


Non-Linear Aging

by f_romanoff_13



Series: Mini-Avengers [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Again, Age Regression/De-Aging, Babysitting, Child Abuse, Child Injury, Children, Gen, Hurt, Hydra, Injury, Kid Clint, Kid Fic, Kid Natasha, Kids, Mission Gone Wrong, Red Room, References to/Implications of:, Young Clint, Young Natasha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-05-07
Packaged: 2018-01-08 16:23:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 31,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f_romanoff_13/pseuds/f_romanoff_13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hydra gets their hands on a piece of machinery which they use to try and get rid of Hawkeye and Black Widow; it turns them into children. But what starts off as nothing more than an inconvenience turns more sinister when something starts happening to the two children...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I know I already have a deaging fic, but this one is less fluff more plot and has been sat on my laptop for months waiting for me to do something with it or bin it, so I thought i'd see what you guys thought

"Stark I need you to come in"

"Fury, maybe you didn't get the memo; **I don't work for you!** "

"I wouldn't be asking you, but I'm desperate"

"Fury, I haven't slept a wink in days. Get your agents on it, I know you at least have a couple of matter assassins on your payroll"

"Tony, they're why I need you come in. Please?"

"W-what happened?!" all traces of annoyance, anger and sarcasm were instantly replaced with worry. Tony may not like Fury, but Clint and Natasha were part of his team, they were his friends and Fury's tone of voice was causing him to panic

"Meet me at my office?"

"I'll be there in ten"

 

Tony strolled down the dull, grey shield hallways counting the million and one things which could have gone wrong with Clint and Natasha's latest mission; they went to Bermuda right?...  
Tony was momentarily distracted when a young boy strolled past, he was about nine or ten and wearing nothing but a hospital gown. Tony thought it vaguely odd that a child was walking around shield but it wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of the little girl with him did he find it truly odd; she had long, curly red hair and sparking green eyes; she was so Natasha it was untrue. She walked beside him, only around eight, wearing a matching medical gown.  
Taking a second glance at the boy, Tony instantly recognised the grin on his face; Barton. 

The girl noticed the look Tony gave them, grabbed the boys hand and ran, Tony was too bewildered to process what he had just seen before an alarm sounded and several armed shield agents ran up the hallway after them. 

Tony still hadn't quite worked out what the hell was going on... Did those two have kids that no-one told him about? De-aging? Because that had happened before... Time travel? Cloning? Maybe he'd imagined it?... Tony was seriously beginning to doubt what he’d seen when he reached his destination: Fury's office.

 

He found Fury in his office; desk upturned and laptop smashed to pieces on the floor by the opposite wall. He was pacing and rubbing his forehead in a way which told Tony something had gone seriously wrong... Hill stood in the corner, nodding to Tony as he entered but otherwise remaining still.

“Sit down Stark” he told him, his voice had an air of defeat in it already.

Tony picked one of the none broken chairs up from the floor “What happ-“ Tony began, but was interrupted when Steve burst through the door

“Sorry I’m late sir”

“It’s alright Rogers, take a seat”

“Wow. Avengers Assemble? This must be bad...”

“Stark-“

“Bruce and Thor joining us too?” 

“Thor is in Asgard and I’m having trouble contacting him. Bruce is overseas and almost equally difficult to get through to”

“What about Clint and Natasha?” Steve asked, noticing how no one had mentioned them

“They’re why I’ve asked you to come in”

The statement hung there in the air for a moment before Steve asked “What happened to them?”

It was a foregone conclusion that they were either critically injured, dead or in serious trouble... 

“Remember last year, when the six of you were reverted to Children for several months..?”

Realization dawned on Tony's tired mind; he knew those green eyes, he recognised them instantly

“Well... It’s happened again” Fury continued, “They’re children”


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was added retrospectively to show some of Clint and Natasha's POV of what was happening while they were at Shield.

Clint woke in a strange room he was guessing was in a hospital. He tried thinking back to the last thing he remembered; he was about to perform, it was his first night and he was nervous, Barney told him to ‘get over it’, but they’d made it perfectly clear that if he couldn’t deliver; he’d be out. And he had nowhere else to go... Then he woke up on a beach somewhere, there was a little girl with him and then... He wasn’t sure.

Looking around the bright room, he saw that same red-headed girl was asleep on the bed beside his. They were both attached to machines, Clint ripped off everything connecting him to them and unplugged them quickly from the wall to stop them beeping. Pulling the IV drip from his hand, he crossed the room to see her more closely. Her arms and legs were strapped to the bed and she had a few extra medications being pumped into her system than he had.

There was someone yelling outside the door, a man in a suit was shouting at a doctor, he looked angry, no; more than angry; furious. Clint crossed to the door to listen;

“She’s a _child_! She’s no threat to you or your staff! Now get her off those drugs and unstrap her from that damn bed before I report your ass to Fury!”

“I’m sorry Agent Coulson, Romanoff is deemed a threat in her current condition and I’ve been advised to keep her sedated until the situation can be assessed further”

“I am her handler, I’m telling you I’ve assessed it and you need to get her off those drugs! Don’t you think she’s been through enough of this shit in her lifetime already?!”

Clint had heard enough, the poor girl looked only around 6 and he felt sorry for her. He remembered passing out on the beach, but not before she had rushed to his side when he had fallen, tried to help him back to his feet. He guessed they were on the same side, and he ought to help her.

Pulling the IV’s from her arm, he hoped it wouldn’t take long for her to wake. They needed to get out of here if they’d been kidnapped, Barney would be worried about him, and he was sure the little girl would have someone missing her too...

Natasha began to fight against the restraints before she was even fully aware they were there. She heard someone muttering to her, but not in Russian. She understood the language but in her current state of teetering on the edge of consciousness, she hadn’t figured out which it was.

Her eyes eventually opened, blurry and overwhelmed by light. The blonde boy was beside her, whispering something about hurrying up, escaping and kidnapped. Is that what had happened? Had she been taken?

No, Ivan would have kept better tabs on her than to allow this to happen; and she wasn’t yet allowed on solos missions. It was a test perhaps? Until the drugs were out of her system and she could think straight; she just couldn’t be sure.

“Are you okay?” Clint asked her, leaning over so she could see his face from where she was still tied to the bed

“Help me?” she asked, playing the helpless little girl perfectly. She needed her arms free

“You’re not going to hurt me are you? We’re on the same side right?” he asked hesitantly

“Um hum” she nodded, forcing herself to cry as he fumbled with the leather strap round her right wrist.

“Thank you” she told him when she was free

The man in the suit was fast approaching their door, he looked livid after the doctor had won the argument. Clint pushed Natasha back into the corner before grabbing the metal chair, as the door opened; he swung it forcefully before shouting;

“Run! Quick let’s go!”


	3. III

“No no no, start again?”

“I thought you were supposed to be a genius Stark?”

“I am, mostly... But it’s not every day two of your friends are regressed to kids”

“It’s really not all that rare...”

Tony rolled his eyes, mimicking Natasha perfectly as Steve continued to nervously pace behind him  
“No, this is _totally_ different to last time!”

Fury took a deep, calming breath; choosing to ignore Stark and start from the beginning;

“Yesterday Agents Romanoff and Barton landed in Bermuda to do some recon on a suspected drug cartel, everything was going well until at 0800 hours when we lost contact. Agent Hill was with them in Bermuda and found a group of Hydra agents trying to leave the area with two unconscious children”

“Two unconscious children with a striking resemblance to your missing agents?”

“Unfortunately so... Back up was called, the threat neutralised, and the kids retrieved. They’re still unconscious and under observations up in medical at the moment”

“Erm, no they’re not”

“What do you mean ‘they’re not’?”

“I saw them when I was on my way up here...”

“Saw them where exactly?”

“They were just walking down the corridor...”

“And you didn’t think to _stop_ them?!” Fury asked in disbelief

“Well I didn’t know who they were!”

Coulson suddenly burst through the door, a growing bruise on his temple  
“Sir, they – they got away”

Fury sighed and threw another chair... He really had anger issues...  
“Shut down the building, no one leaved until those kids are found!”


	4. IV

“Stark, Rogers. I need your help on this one”

The desperation in his voice almost made Tony feel sorry for the guy

“We’ll help you look” Steve informed him, turning to stroll past Coulson out of the office, with Tony hot on his heels

“What happened Phil?” 

“They woke up and freaked out. Clint hit me with a chair and when I came too; they were gone”

“He hit you with a chair?” Tony asked, a slight smirk on his face

“This is nothing like last time; they’re not as accepting of their situation. Whatever did this to them hasn’t been as gentle on their minds; they’re scared and confused... And we all know how bad their childhoods were...”

The two Avengers nodded solemnly 

“This is hopeless, they could be absolutely anywhere. We need to think, where would they go?” Tony asked, frustrated. He always knew shield HQ was too big...

“Air vents?”

“Could then even reach? I mean; how old are they this time?” 

“Medical reckon Romanoff is around 8, but she’s small for her age, and Barton is about 10”

“And even now they’ve banded together...” Steve added, peering down a dark hallway, “Hey Phil, what’s down here?”

“Oh nothing, they’re doing some building work or something down there...”

Steve set off at a run, past the ‘no entry’ signs and into the darkness as the working lights faded away. Tony followed, before Phil too set off in the same direction

Maria’s voice sounded over the coms as they searched the empty rooms;

“Report? Dennings?”

“Negative”

“Pine?” 

“Second floor clear Mam”

“Tyler?”

“No sightings yet”

“Lisbon?” ... Lisbon report? ... Dammit! Coulson, tell me you have something?”

But Phil didn’t answer; he was too busy watching Steve slowly approach a wary looking Clint who was crouching beneath a table. He was so still, Phil would have missed him altogether.

“It’s alright buddy, you can come out. You’re safe” Steve whispered gently, keeping his hands in view so as not to startle the young boy. 

It almost seemed to be working before Natasha appeared from nowhere; she threw Phil to the ground before incapacitating Tony, a small foot resting over his neck while a bewildered Tony was left sprawled on the floor, looking up at his miniature friend who was pointing a gun at his head. She threatened Steve in Russian, or at least they assumed it was a threat by her tone, and when Steve turned back around; Clint was gone. Natasha disappeared before Tony even had a chance to blink and they were back to square one...

“We did... But they’re gone. All agents be aware; they're armed” Coulson managed to say, trying to breath steadily having been winded when Natasha had thrown him to the ground

“Regroup in Fury’s office” Hill instructed

Tony ungracefully climbed back to his feet, while Steve offered Phil a hand

“I am so glad I wasn’t around last time this happened” Tony muttered as the three of them made their way back to the director’s office

“You were... Sort of” Steve answered

“Well, yeah. But I was a kid too”

“ _You_ were one of the troublesome ones” Phil informed him, remember the time nine year old Tony Stark blew up one of the shield labs. “But something tells me it’s going to be different this time...”


	5. V

“How the hell did Romanoff get a gun?” Fury demanded

“I’m assuming they took down Lisbon and his team; they’re not responding”

Fury sighed, “They’re _children!_ And there’s only **two** of them! How the hell did they take down a team of five highly trained agents?”

“We’re talking about Romanoff and Barton Sir, even as children they were skilled”

“So it seems, we need a way to get through to them!”

“Sir” Steve interrupted “I think Clint will be easier to convince, it’s Natasha who’s going to be the problem”

“Agreed. Coulson, Hill; do you think bringing in Pepper would be beneficial? She had a connection with them last time”

“Oh no!” Tony stopped them before either of them could answer “Romanoff just threatened me with a gun, Pepper isn’t being brought into this until you can guarantee her safety”

“Sir, I agree with Tony. Last time they had a kind of familiarity; an affinity to the people they knew and trusted as adults. Right now; they’re just scared kids who don’t know where they are or who to trust, and for kids like Clint and Natasha; that makes them dangerous”

Fury rubbed his temples as his head felt ready to explode. He couldn’t believe this had happened... **Again**

“So what do we do?” Agent Dennings asked, playing with her pen as she thought over their options

“Trick them? Try and trap them in the detainment cells?” Tyler offered

“They’re not that stupid” Tony muttered

“Besides, tricking them isn’t generally the best way to gain their trust” Steve warned

“What if we managed to separate them? Bring Barton in, would Romanoff follow?”

“Who knows? In their adult state; without a doubt, she’d follow him to the end of the world, but right now... As far as they’re aware they only met an hour ago” Phil sighed

“Is it worth a shot?” Fury aimed at Coulson

“Let’s call it plan B. I think we should give Tony and Steve another shot”

Glancing an eye over at the one third of the Avengers he had left, Fury nodded, despite the concerned looks they were giving Coulson at his suggestion

The agents filed from Fury’s office, going to try and locate Lisbon and his missing team and leaving the hunt for two mini assassins to Iron Man and Captain America.

“Why’d you say that? Why us?” Tony asked, when it was just the three of them left in the room

“Not one of those agents knows Barton or Romanoff like you two; you really think that separating them right now is what they need? They’re scared and alone, but they’re together. And right now, that’s what they need”

The two men nodded, before standing to start their search again.


	6. VI

“You think we should suit up?” Tony asked, feeling oddly vulnerable without his suit. He liked to believe Natasha wouldn’t harm him... At 8 years old she hadn’t killed anyone yet, but she’d been trained too, and he’d seen the fear in her eyes as she stared down at him

“I don’t think that’d be wise Tony, if one thing is going to set Natasha more on edge, it’s a man running after her sporting the American flag”

“Oh, yeah. Right” Tony almost laughed at his ridiculous suggestion, and then a thought hit him and he ran to the elevator

“Tony? Where are you going?”

“The roof”

“What? Why?” Steve stuttered, running after him 

“Whenever Barton is on a mission, or she has a nightmare; Natasha goes to the roof of the tower to watch the stars or sit in the rain. Barton sits up there for hours in complete silence; he likes the space to think. It’s comfort, and familiar. It’s where they’ll be...”

“You’re sure?” Phil asked, amazed that Tony Stark had paid so much attention to notice these habits

“I – I think so. It’s my best shot...”

They disembarked the elevator on the top floor and made their way to the stairs to the roof, Phil waited there; there last thing they wanted was to make them feel overcrowded. 

“Clint, Natasha?” Steve asked gently on finding the two children by the edge of the rooftop of shield HQ. Natasha was stood looking up at the sky, not minding one bit about the rain which soaked her hair and ran down her face. Clint was sat with his feel dangling over the edge; watching the streets below with a keen interest.

“How do you know our names?” Clint asked, not looking at the two men

“We’re here to keep you safe”

Natasha laughed, not with humour, but disbelief. She looked at them, and Tony saw once again her emerald eyes betray her true emotions; complete and utter fear

“Why should we trust you? We don’t know you” she asked sternly, ignoring the slight shake in her hands as the cold rain started getting to her

Steve raised his hands, slowly. And Tony mimicked the gesture; “We’re unarmed, we’ve been trying to find you for a while; we were worried about you”

“Why?”

“We know people have hurt you, but you’re safe now. I promise”

Clint finally looked over from his perch at the edge of the building, and Natasha’s gaze remained locked with Steve’s as she tried to read him. 

“We’re in America?” Natasha asked

“New York” Tony answered

“Why?”

“Natasha, can’t we have this conversation inside; you’re cold” Steve said, gesturing to her shaking form as she stood, soaked head to toe in the rain

“I’m fine” she insisted 

Clint went to stand by her side, and the two waited patiently for an answer

“This building, those agents; they’re shield. They’re who got you out, to keep you safe. This is where they’re based. New York” Steve answered simply

Tony hoped that would be the end of the conversation; he himself was starting to get cold and he wasn’t only wearing a hospital gown

“Why us?” Clint asked, peering round Steve to Tony, to see if he would answer any of their questions

“W- what do you mean?” he asked, unsure what Clint meant by that

“There must be loads of kids in bad situations. Why not them? Why pick a carnie kid from Iowa and a girl from Russia?”

So it seems the two of them had at least traded some of their back stories while they’d been giving shield the run around

“Erm... Because...” Steve stammered, unsure of how to answer

“Because you deserve better; a second chance” Tony offered hopefully

Natasha gave Clint an uncertain glance as he stepped toward them. Steve was right; Clint was easier to convince

Steve’s smile of relief as Clint approached the doorway back inside quickly vanished as Natasha took an unsteady step backwards. He was painfully aware how close to the edge she was, and she was so small and frail; he feared a gust of wind would cause her to fall.

“Natasha?” Tony asked gently, not moving from his spot but causing the young girls focus to be placed entirely on him; “Just come back inside, please”

She looked like she might be considering it, their persistence accompanied by the chill she was beginning to feel were wearing her down. But then Agent Sitwell burst through the door demanding to know if they were making any progress, it startled all four of them, but as Natasha jumped in shock; her footing slipped on the wet surface of the roof and she fell...


	7. VII

Clint reached her first, and to his relief he saw four tiny fingertips, straining to grip the edge of the building. Lying down, he gripped her other hand and slowly began to pull her back up as best he could. As Steve reached them her grip of the rooftop gave out and it was only Clint preventing her from falling. He slid forward as he held up Natasha's added weight, and Steve grabbed him just as he began slipping. 

Tony was finally given the opportunity he'd been waiting for to punch Agent Sitwell in the face.

Steve dragged Clint back and lifted Natasha back onto solid ground as Tony rushed over and helped the three of them back to their feet; Steve looked relieved, Clint looked scared and Natasha looked outright terrified; she flinched away from him when he went to help her and she quickly re schooled her featured into a mask of indifference.

“Nice reflexes” Steve told Clint, clapping him on the shoulder and earning himself a grateful smile for the compliment.

“You okay kiddo?” Tony asked Natasha, noticing her stoic expression and silence.

“Y-you didn’t let me fall” she stated, confused.

“Of course not, that’s like a 300 foot drop!” Tony told her, peering over the edge of shield HQ down to the sidewalk below and shivering at the thought

“B-but it was my fault... You s-should have let me fall”

“Did you _want_ to fall?” Clint asked, a little taken aback by her reaction.

“No” she whispered

“Then why would you think that?”

“ _They_ would have let me fall...”

Tony and Steve glanced at each other and decided it was time to get back inside and end this conversation

“Do you trust us now?” Steve asked, positioning himself between the children and the edge of the roof

Clint agreed hastily, a grin on his face; the kid clearly looked up to him and that made Tony smirk. Natasha nodded slightly, avoiding eye contact with the others and crossing her arms over her chest to try and stop shaking. If Tony didn’t know Natasha better, he’d have sworn she was blushing...

“I’m sorry” she whispered, before trailing slowly after the others as they made their way back inside.


	8. VIII

Tony and Steve lead the two sodden children back to the medical bay, where Coulson, Hill and Fury were waiting for them.  
Agent Sitwell was just leaving with a bloodied, broken nose as they arrived, and Tony caught an approving smile from Fury.

“We got any dry clothes for them?” Steve asked, grabbing a towel and wrapping it over Clint’s shoulders. 

“I’ll see what I can do” Maria said, quickly leaving the medical bay

“There are a few tests we need to run, and then you can take them home” Fury informed Steve and Tony

Natasha moved defensively behind Tony at the mention of ‘tests’ but both he and Steve were preoccupied with Fury’s statement to reassure her she’d be okay

“Take them home? Us?”

“Yes”

“But why?”

“Well they can’t stay _here_ ”

“You want them at the tower?!”

“Well that _is_ where they live!”

“And you want _us_ to look after them?”

“Well... Yeah”

“Seriously? Me and Capsicle?”

“You got a better idea Stark?”

“Pretty much _anyone_ would be better than me!”

“You’ll be fine. You’ll have Rogers, and Pepper. We need all our staff working on reversing this. I need my agents back”

“We’ll be fine Sir” Steve told him, before Tony could protest again

Hill returned with some clothes she hoped would fit the miniature agents, and Phil arrived with Dr. Montgomery who would be running the tests on the kids.

“Steve, why’d you agree to this? Last time this happened we were kids for _months_!” Tony hissed under his breath with Fury went to speak to the doctor.

“They need their friends right now Tony” Steve told him, gesturing to Natasha who was still positioning herself carefully behind Tony and away from the doctor, while Steve was being closely shadowed by Clint.


	9. IX

Clint and Natasha awkwardly changed into the clothing Maria had brought for them; Natasha ended up wearing a top as a dress because the pants were just too big to stay up, while Clint wore some female gym clothes, and although they were too big; they would do for now. Tony considered phoning Pepper so she could get some supplies in, but he really wanted to see her face if they just turned up with them like this... 

The doctors ran their tests; it had taken both Steve and Tony’s best efforts to keep them calm and compliant during the medical exam, well; mainly Natasha. Clint didn’t seem to mind all that much and normally ended up being used as a demonstration so the doctor could inform Natasha of what exactly they’d be doing. She was rather reluctant to allow any medical tests to be performed and it took them a long time to talk her round.  
In the end they summarized the two children were relatively healthy, and after taking a few viles of blood they were free to leave. 

“We’re going to go home now, okay?” Steve told them gently. 

“Who’s home?” Clint asked sceptically.

“Ours” Steve smiled, gesturing between himself and Tony.

“Are you guys like, together?” Clint asked with a cheeky smile.

“God no!” Tony exclaimed “You’ll meet my girlfriend when we get there”

“Why are we going there?” Natasha asked, breaking her long silence.

“It’s safer” Tony told her, just as the security alarm went off again.

“Fury?” Steve asked down the coms, moving instinctively closer to the kids.

“Rogers, Stark; get them out of here. We have a breach”

They glanced at each other quickly before snapping into action.

“We have to get out of here, fast. Alright?” Steve told Clint and Natasha, who nodded in agreement; despite the fact neither were looking at him. They were both already working a way out of there; Clint’s eyes had darted up towards the air vents, while Natasha was scanning the room for weapons; unfortunately, they were in short supply in the medical bay...

Steve reached up and pulled the vent cover off and lifted Clint in, he grabbed Natasha (who was less than impressed) and lifted her up too, before gesturing to Tony.

“I’ll meet you at the tower” he informed him as Tony dragged over a chair to climb up to the vent; he drew the line at being picked up by Captain America.

“You’re not coming with us?” 

“There’s no way I’ll fit in there, just go. And don’t lose them!”

Tony crawled hurriedly after Clint and Natasha, who moved swiftly and silently, and Tony struggled to keep up. Natasha had to shush him several times as his hands and knees made too much noise.

It seemed like they’d been crawling for ages when the kids paused in front of him;

“What are you-“ Tony began, but stopped when two sets of eyes glared at him. Peering through the grate to the room below; he saw a group of shield agents being held hostage by several armed hydra agents;

“Tell us where the kids are and we’ll allow you to live”

The shield agents were silent, refusing to answer. Tony saw Natasha glance guiltily to Clint, who wore an expression of quiet anger which looked so much like his older self it was unnerving.

“What do we do?” Clint whispered to Tony

“Keep going” he told him, feeling awful about leaving the agents, but he couldn’t do much without his suit, and he definitely couldn’t leave the kids alone and defenceless when hydra were after them...

As Clint slid forward, the grate (which apparently hadn’t been fitted properly) fell through, taking Clint with it to the floor.

“Oh shit!” Tony exclaimed, informing Natasha to stay where she was while he jumped down beside Clint.

The hydra agents jumped into action immediately and lunged forward, Tony got in a good punch here and there, and Clint was a fairly good fighter for a ten year old. But they were outnumbered, the shield agents were tied up, and Tony could only watch in horror as one of the agents raised their guns and aimed it at the air ducts where Natasha was still hiding. 

She jumped down from the vents, landing gracefully beside Tony just as Steve stormed in; taking out the guy with the gun and quickly dispatching the other hydra agents. He'd apparently picked up his shield on the way up here...

Steve moved to free the shield agents, while Tony looked the kids over; Clint was bruised and breathing heavily, while a trail of blood ran down Natasha’s arm.

“Oh my God Nat are you shot?!” Tony asked dramatically

“It’s fine” she insisted, pushing his hand away as he tried to stop the bleeding

“Natasha-“

“I’ve had worse. We need to keep moving”

“No, we’re good. That was the last of them” Steve informed him, looking carefully at Clint’s swollen eye “Maybe we should head back up to medical?”

“Yeah, and then we should _really_ get to the tower” Tony answered.


	10. X

“I don’t need to go to medical!” Natasha insisted.

“I really think you do” Tony said, gesturing to her blood soaked arm.

She took a step back but didn’t take her eyes off Tony. They were the only two left in the room now; the shield agents had all cleared off to go back to their daily business, and Steve had taken Clint to get looked at. Tony wondered how he’d ended up watching the awkward one...

“Nat, come on. We need to get you stitched up and then we can go home”

She sighed, only now did Tony notice just how tired she looked. “How much longer is this going to last?” she asked, looking dejectedly at the floor.

“What do you mean?”

“This is a test right?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about”

“Don’t lie to me. You work for Ivan; I just don’t understand the point of this test. I’m sick of playing games, so please just tell me so I can go back and take my punishment for failing”

“Natasha, this isn’t a test”  
She clearly didn’t believe him, but Tony wasn’t sure how to make her...  
“Natasha, would we have brought Clint; a civilian, into this dangerous situation if it were just a test?”

“Of course you would. The red room doesn’t care for civilian lives”

“Okay, would we have let you get injured if this were just a test?”

“A gunshot wound barely qualifies as an injury... You know that”

“Would I be asking all these stupid questions if I honestly knew the answers?”

“Probably”

“I swear to you Natasha, and I know we have no right to ask you to trust us, but we are not part of the red room. This is not a test, and no one here is going to hurt you. You’re safe; I just need you to trust me”

Tony watched as her bright green eyes carefully examined him. He knew she was a good judge of character; he just hoped she’d see he was telling the truth.

“Okay, I’ll go with you to your home, but I don’t want to go to medical”

At least that was some progress...

“Natasha, you have a gunshot wound. You might think it’s nothing but to me it’s a serious injury. So you’re going to go to medical and you’re going to go now!”

Tony shocked himself slightly at his words, he sounded just like Clint had when Natasha had refused to see the doctors over a broken wrist the previous month. Tony had watched as Clint ended up dragging her down there... 

“No I – Ouch!” she shouted, swatting his hand away as he poked her arm.

“See” he said with a smirk. Maybe there was something to Barton’s method...  
She was momentarily distracted looking at her arm, so Tony grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, surprised at how little she weighed, he carried her all the way back to medical while she argued and protested.

***

Steve had taken Clint back to the infirmary, leaving Tony to try and talk Tasha round. Tony didn’t know it; but after Clint he was probably the best to deal with Natasha when she was being irrational. 

“So, your shield is real cool” Clint told him, walking beside Steve up to medical, openly admiring Captain America's shield he held in his hand.

“Thanks” Steve smiled. Seeing the young Clint Barton looking up to him like this was strange; the adult Clint would probably be embarrassed, he normally kept his feeling pretty close to his chest.

“Can I hold it?”

“After we get you checked out and safely back to the tower, okay?”

“Okay” he said excited, “race to the med bay!” he shouted, already setting off at a run. It took Steve slightly by surprise, but took off in a sprint just a second after Clint, of course Steve could have beat him easily; but he let the young boy win, just.

Clint was checked over by the doctors, and ended up needing a few stitched down his jaw line where one of the hydra agents had caught him with the butt of their gun, and an ice pack on his fist where his hand was swollen. 

As they were finishing up they heard the shouting of a disgruntled Natasha as Tony carried her into the room. Placing her on the examination bed, he warned her to stay and receive a death glare in response.  
While the doctors stitched up her arm (and the graze from a bullet on her thigh that she had failed to mention), Tony cleaned up her blood off his arm and went to fetch her a clean top. 

“I can’t believe you _carried_ Natasha Romanoff up to the medical bay and lived to tell the tale” Phil whispered to Tony when he turned up to check on them following the attack.

“Yeah well, she’s a miniature Agent Romanoff, if she were fully grown I wouldn’t have dared; I leave that to Barton!” 

“We’re all done here” Doctor Montgomery informed them, and the four of them were finally ready to leave shield and head back to Avengers Tower.


	11. XI

Natasha was silent the whole way back to the tower, whether that was by choice, or whether it was just she couldn’t get a word in edgeways; Tony wasn’t sure.  
Clint was more than compensating for her silence; talking none stop, asking 100s of questions and bouncing excitedly in his seat. Where Natasha had assumed this was a test which she would be punished for for failing; Clint seemed to have decided this was an adventure, and he was going to enjoy every moment! Steve just hoped some of his carefree childish attitude rubbed off on Natasha. This whole thing would be a lot easier on him and Tony if they were both a bit more relaxed and easy going...

When they finally reached the tower, Clint looked at it in awe, obviously amazed by its size and power. It was a long way from the circus in Iowa he’d come from. Even Natasha looked a little shocked that this was where they were staying, but she quickly shrugged it off when she noticed Tony watching her staring. 

They rode the elevator up to the 63rd floor, and as the doors opened; Tony quickly remember Pepper. He had wanted to see her face when they turned up with the two kids, but never intended to actually spring it on her like this; he felt guilty at not giving her any notice.

“Jarvis, where’s Pepper?”

“She is on your floor sir”

Natasha jumped at the AIs response, and Clint smirked at her defensive posture.

“Could you ask her to come down here please?”

“Right away sir”

“Who is that?” Clint asked

“Thats Jarvis; it’s the computer system that runs the tower” Steve answered, purposely oversimplifying it. 

“Oh he is so much more than that!” Tony started, not hiding the exasperated tome to his voice. But at the elevator had started it's decent so he stopped and shooed the other three into the back room. Clint and Steve got the message, but Natasha stood defiantly to watch until Steve came back to drag her out the way.

“Tony? What are you doing down here?” Pepper asked, strolling from the elevator with a handful of paperwork while scrolling through her company phone.

“Erm, I have something I need to tell you...”

“Oh Tony. What did you do now?” she asked an air of disappointment in her voice already.

“What? I didn’t do anything! But this is important, and I know it’s not exactly what you want to hear but-“

Tony stopped talking when he noticed Natasha peering back in the room, apparently having escaped from Steve and far too curious for her own good. Tony suspected she still didn’t completely trust them; and this was just far too like secrets being kept from her in her eyes.

Pepper turned to follow his gaze, she froze as her pale blue eyes locked onto Natasha. Her jaw went slack and the paperwork fell from her hands, unable to form a coherent sentence; she looked helplessly to Tony who just shrugged apologetically.

Steve reappeared, with Clint trailing behind him; “Sorry Tony. She got away from me”

“S’alright, it’s not me she sent catatonic” 

Pepper looked from Natasha, to Clint, and back to Natasha again, her brain failing to comprehend what was happening right in front of her.  
Sure, this had happened before (well, sort of), but that time she’d had some warning; Coulson had tried to give her a summary of events before introducing her to the kids, this time it had just been dropped on her; and she had been wholly unprepared.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to form words but none came. Eventually tony pushed her down gently on the sofa and Steve handed her a glass of water.

“Is she okay?” Clint asked, not so subtly, to Steve as he followed him to the kitchen.

Natasha hadn’t moved from the spot she’d frozen on when Pepper’s eyes had first locked on her, her eyes were still locked on the older redhead, trying to read her; decide if she were friend or foe, ally or enemy. It made Tony a little uneasy, but Pepper didn’t seem to mind. She was starting to regain her composure and smiled warmly at the little girl.

Natasha seemed to decide Pepper wasn’t a threat and took a seat at the other end of the sofa, watching Steve and Clint who had started playing on some racing game on the brand new PlayStation 4 Tony had bought.

“Pepper, can I talk to you?” Tony asked quietly, glaring at Natasha to stay put. Steve changed the game to three player mode and handed Natasha a spare controller; she looked at it like she had no idea what she held in her hands. It was a little sad; an eight year old that could take apart and reassemble a gun in seconds with her eyes closed and still have time to shot you before you'd even comprehended the fact she had a gun; didn’t know how to play a game. Clint took it upon himself to explain the buttons to her in the same way Steve had for him, while Tony and Pepper left on the elevator.

 

“Tony, what the hell?! Again?!”

“I know Pepper, and I’m sorry. But we had to bring them here”

“No Tony, I’m glad you brought them here. I just wish I’d had some warning”

“Also my fault, I got a bit distracted when we were attacked at shield”

“You were attacked?!”

“You didn’t notice the bruising on Clint’s face or the bullet hole in Natasha’s arm?”

“Bullet hole?! Tony what on earth?”

“Pep, we don’t know all the details. But Hydra did this; a way to weaken them and get rid of them once and for all I guess. Coulson says this is different to last time; they have less familiarity with the aspects of their adult lives. Natasha is still convinced this is all a test set up by the Red Room. She's difficult to get through to, but we're making some progress with Clint. At least, I hope we are”

“This is going to be tough”

“Yeah, I think it is. And I’m sorry to dump this on you again”

“Tony, I loved looking after you and the others when you were kids. those months were some of the fondest of my life. Don’t be sorry, let’s just keep them safe”

Tony smiled gratefully and wrapped his arms round the waist of the woman he loved. His lips found hers and for a moment they were completely lost in each other.  
Pepper eventually pulled away, taking a pause for breath and smiling at Tony. “We need to get supplies again don’t we?”

“Yeah, they have nothing that fits; they haven’t even got any shoes on” 

“Okay. Tomorrow; we go shopping!”

Tony didn’t like the glint in Pepper’s eye as she said that. He followed her back to the elevator and as they emerged on the 63rd floor they heard Clint exclaiming; “How did you win?! You don’t even know how to play!” as Natasha smiled smugly from her corner of the sofa.


	12. XII

Natasha and Clint each had a bedroom set up for them, but judging by their faces; they each felt more comfortable when Steve dragged one of the beds through so they could sleep in the same room.  
Severely lacking on kids supplies; Natasha was given one of Pepper’s tops to sleep in, and Clint had to deal with some workout clothes which belonged to (adult) Natasha. The two of them would be sleeping in one of the spare rooms on Tony and Pepper’s floor; Tony had suggested letting them stay in their own rooms, but Pepper and Steve had quickly decided that could be disastrous as none of them knew quite how many weapons were stashed around those floors.

The next morning (if you can call 4am morning) Tony was woken when Jarvis informed him the door to the balcony had been opened.

Panicking, he sprinted from his bed and down the hallway to find it was just Natasha who’d gone to stand outside. 

He approached her, making purposeful noises so as not to startle her, and stood by her side while she watched the city. Even Pepper’s t-shirt drowned her.  
Her long hair blew in the breeze and she rested her chin on her arms, which were leaning on the railings around the balcony.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Tony asked, when it became apparent she wasn’t going to start a conversation anytime soon

She just shrugged. “If I ask you a question, will you be honest?”

“I’ll try”

“What year is it?”

“2014. What year do you think it is?”

“1993”

“Sorry kid"

“Do you know me, the future me? Am I still alive in 2014?”

“Yes I know you; you’re one of my best friends”

“Am I a good person?” this question seemed to be the most important; the vital piece answer she wanted. Finally looking up to him, Tony could see the impatience in her eyes as she waited

“You’re a hero” he told her with a gentle smile. Her face softened and relief flickered over her face. “You want to go back inside? It’s a bit chilly”

She followed him back inside and took a seat on the sofa beside him 

“Clint told me to enjoy my time here, before you send us back” it wasn't phrased as a question, but Tony gave himself some credit that he could read Natasha rather well and knew it was something that has been bothering her since this whole thing began.

“What do you mean?”

“He said it’s like when he used to be fostered, they always sent him back”

“Natasha, this isn’t like that, and it’s not a test either. It’s a... It’s like a rescue. You and Clint are going to stay here with us, and we're going to keep you safe until we figure out how to change you both back into adults. Okay?”

She nodded and yawned, settling back into the sofa after Tony had seemingly put her mind at ease. He wondered how long it had been since she’d had a proper night’s sleep...

 

Two and a half hours later Pepper woke to an empty bed. Wondering round their floor of the tower she found him asleep on the sofa; head back resting against the pillow behind him, and his mouth open. He had an arm draped round Natasha’s shoulders as she slept soundly; her head rested comfortably on his chest and she was curled up in an attempt to stay warm. 

“Jarvis, can you capture a picture of this for me?” she asked, smiling at her boyfriend

“Right away Miss Potts”

She grabbed a spare blanket; draping it over the pair. Sweeping Natasha’s hair from her face and kissing Tony gently on the cheek before she left to ring work; she’d definitely need a few days off...


	13. XIII

The next morning after breakfast Steve and Tony sat the two miniature Shield Agents down to explain things properly.  
Judging from his conversation with her last night; Tony guessed Natasha had figured most of it out, but telling them together just made sense; they’d get the same information and could ask any questions they wanted. Once this had been dealt with, they were to go shopping with Pepper to get some clothes.

“How much do you guys remember?” Tony asked them. The two kids were sat on the sofa, facing Tony who was sat opposite on the table. Steve was stood by his side  
and Pepper was milling about in the background, attempting to look like she wasn’t listening while tidying up.

“We ain’t stupid” Clint told him, sounding somewhat defensive

“We never said you were. We just want to make sure we’re all on the same page”

Clint looked the two men over before turning to look at Natasha. She’d been staring intently at her feet which were curled up next to her on the couch. She hadn’t said much since she’d woken up.

“Tasha said its 2014?” Clint asked. Natasha’s eyes flickered up at the nickname 

“It is” Tony confirmed. 

“How’d I get here? It was 1984 last I checked”

“Look, I know what it’s like to wake up in a different time. But I need you to believe us when we tell you that you and Natasha are our friends, here in 2014. Something happened and turned you back into children, but we’re going to work really hard to get you back”

Clint looked at him, doubting his words; “Prove it?”

The two men looked at each other thinking how to go about this, before it clicked;  
“Jarvis, pull up the security footage from Romanoff and Barton’s shield files?”

“Right away sir”

The TV flickered to life behind Tony; he quickly moved out of the way and watched as the images of Clint and Natasha firing their respective weapons played on the screen.

“T-thats us” Clint stuttered, it wasn’t a question though. He knew it was the truth. 

“Who’re we fighting?” Natasha asked, sounding concerned. Tony figured she was at a stage in her training where she was very aware of what was right and wrong. She wanted to be a good person; even through everything the Red Room forced her to do, she'd kept ahold of herself to know who she wanted to be; before the Red Room broke her down and conditioned her into thinking they were the good guys, and whatever they told her was right.

“The bad guys. I told you you’re a hero”

Natasha’s green eyes shot a thankful look in Tony’s direction and a small smile tugged at her mouth; the first real smile he’d seen from her in her child-state.

“Here” Pepper told them, passing them a photograph of the Avenger’s team and Phil.

“That’s you!” Clint informed Steve, pointing at Captain America. Steve nodded;

“And that is Tony” he pointed his own finger to show them Iron Man on the photo.

“Wow that’s cool!” Clint gushed, leaning closer to Natasha to show her the photo.

“Is he part of the team?” Clint asked, pointing to Coulson with a guilty expression on his face

“Sort of, he’s our handler” 

“I hit him with a chair...”

“We know, he’ll forgive you though. You two are his favourites, maybe apart from Cap here” Tony said, clapping Steve on the back.

“You guys got any questions?” Steve asked as Natasha examined the photo carefully

Both kids shook their head, both seeming happy with the explanation he and Tony had given them. Thankfully. He really didn’t know how Pepper, Coulson and Hill had coped with the six of them when they’d all been in this position.

“Right okay, let’s go get you some clothes” Pepper told them. The two kids climbed from where they sat. Clint ran back to the room where they’d slept to get changed  
into his makeshift clothes, while Natasha walked slowly towards Pepper to hand back the picture.

“You can keep that if you want” she told her gently, reading her well after years of living with Natasha

“Thank you”


	14. XIV

Steve called by shield while Tony and Pepper took the kids to the mall. He was glad not to have to wonder round the hundreds of stores Pepper no doubt planned to visit.

“How’re things going?” Coulson asked on seeing Captain America enter

“As well as can be expected. We told them the truth. Well, most of it. But they’re coping well”

“Even Natasha?”

“Even Natasha” Steve smiled. “She seems oddly trusting of Tony”

Coulson laughed. He’d learned to always expect the unexpected where his agents were involved, and he guessed that should still apply now they were children again.

“Clint wanted me pass on his apologies for hitting you with a chair”

“It’s alright; he’s done much worse in the past”

“Your guys making any progress?”

At that moment Fury and Hill entered, both nodding a greeting to Steve

“Medical are still running several tests on the blood taken from Romanoff and Barton, and none of the Hydra agents who survived the attack are talking. Yet.” Fury informed him, a look in his eye which told Steve he had nowhere near finished with them; he wouldn't give up until he got some answers.

 

At the mall Tony had his work cut out for him as Clint ran here, there and everywhere; darting through the crowds that kids had more energy than anyone Tony had ever met.  
Clint seemed to have decided he would enjoy his time in the future and didn’t want to waste a moment. He was as excited and giddy as any normal 10 year old kid might be on Christmas day. They lost him more than once, and Tony often found himself running off after him. It was only when Clint decided to run down the up escalator did Tony decide he was on his own, taking the correct escalator and meeting him at the bottom with a stern look on his face.

Natasha was a different story. The bustling crowds and busy mall seemed to intimidate her. It didn’t pass Tony and Pepper’s attention that she automatically searched for the nearest exit wherever she went, and kept herself altert and ready to bolt if she needed, keeping her back to a wall where possible and reacting instantly if someone moved too quickly or in her direction.

Tony dragged Clint into the mens changing room to get him to try on some of the clothes, while Pepper took Natasha to the womens.

“Why do I need all these clothes?”

“You’ve got to wear something. Don’t you have clothes at home?”

“I have a training suit”

“What do you wear when you’re not training?”

“I’m always training”

Pepper realised too late that it was probably not the wisest thing to ask Natasha. The last time she’d been de-aged Natasha had become incredibly close to Pepper; they had a close bond that had carried over when she’d been turned back into an adult again. But last time this had happened Natasha had been younger, at only five years old she’d been in the Red Room just over a year. Now she was eight, they’d obviously stepped up her training and she was having more difficulty settling into normal life. Well, as normal as life around Avengers Tower ever got... 

“You don’t have to train while you’re here. You get to have a normal life for a while”

“I don’t know how to do that”

Pepper’s heart almost broke looking into Natasha’s confused expression. Looking at the young version of her best friend; bandages covering her recently acquired bullet wounds on her leg and arm, Pepper vowed once again to give her and Clint the childhood they deserved.

When they exited the changing rooms they found Clint and Tony waiting for them. 

“Tasha come look at this!” Clint shouted excitedly, grabbing her hand and dragging her off. 

“You alright Pepper?” Tony asked, concerned

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine”

“Are you sure?” Tony asked, wiping a stray tear from her face

She nodded, trying as much to convince herself as Tony; “It’s just. I don’t know how someone survives a childhood like that”

“She’s strong. They both are” he told her, taking her hand in his and giving it an encouraging squeeze. 

Clint and Natasha suddenly appeared back in front of them, Clint clutching two ‘Avengers’ themed tops and asking enthusiastically if they could get those too. Natasha looked unsure but visibly relaxed when Tony nodded happily.

 

Following the clothing store, they headed to the food court for lunch.

“We get new clothes AND to eat out?! This is awesome!” Clint eager said, running off to find a free table.

“But we ate this morning” Natasha stated, baffled

“Yes” Tony confirmed, confused

She seemed to read he wasn’t sure what she was trying to ask so she brushed it off and went with it. It would make a nice change; at the Red Room meals were infrequent and often forgotten; it could be days between food and you'd never know if you'd get your next meal before you were too weak to survive the training.

Following food, rather than heading home as planned Tony insisted they take the kids to the toy shop, and Pepper hastily agreed.

Natasha was once again puzzled at being treated so well, while Clint continued to be as excitable and giddy as he had been all day; he showed no signs of exhaustion as Tony hoped he would.  
Chasing him round the store was a task in itself and Tony had a hard job of narrowing down his choices of toys to a number that would actually fit in the car. Natasha watched Clint with quiet intrigue; far more interested in his behaviour than any of the toys and games on the shelves. 

While Tony tried unsuccessfully to persuade Clint a nerf gun was perhaps not the best choice of toy, Pepper took Natasha next door to the books shop. She seemed much happier at the prospect of spending time in here.

“You can pick a few books and then we’ll go home” Pepper told her smiling, before going over to pick up a few books she thought Clint might like, and grabbing a few DVDs as well.

Tony and Clint appeared in the book store almost 20 minutes later, arms laden with bags from the toy store. 

"How much did you buy?!" Pepper asked, taking in the sheer number of bags in her boyfriends arms.

"The kids persuasive"

Clint wondered up isle after isle before he came across Natasha. She was sat on the floor, cross legged, reading a Russian history book

“What are you looking for?” he asked, taking a seat beside her as she flicked through the pages

“I was just wondering... What happened to them. If anyone knew...”

“No one knows Natasha” Tony told her, having turned to corner just in time to hear her last statement. “They were highly covert, to most people; the Red Room just doesn't exist”

“Are they still- do they still exist?”

“No. Not for the past 10 years now, you took care of that; both of you”

Tony watched the relief overtake her features as she smiled at Clint; a true, smile overtaking her whole face. Clint didn't understand what had just happened, but he sensed the change in the young red-headed girl and returned the smile, taking her hand and helping her to her feet once she'd quickly returned the book to the shelf.

They left after Pepper recommended the Harry Potter books to Natasha after struggled to choose anything for herself. Clint go the Hunger Games trilogy and they both agreed they’d swap once they were finished. 

Tony snuck in a few of the latest Avenger comic books without Pepper noticing.

Hundreds of dollars, 2 close calls with the paparazzi, and 7 hours later; the four of them made their way back to the tower.


	15. XV

“How’d it go at the mall?” Steve greeted them, watching in slight disbelief at the amount of shopping bags the four of them carried 

“Clint, Natasha; will you guys get the other bags while me and Pepper talk to Steve?”

It was a test Tony had purposely set up, to see if Natasha would leave them alone long enough to talk. After a moments deliberation, Natasha followed Clint back to the elevator and Tony internally celebrated a victory; progress. 

“More bags?!” Steve asked, shocked

Tony ignored him and moved on to more important issues; “What did Shield have to say?”

“Nothing much; they’re still working on the bloods and Hydra haven’t cracked yet. Though we didn’t really leave them much to work with; only 3 Hydra agents survived the attack, and one died shortly after following complications from a ruptured spleen”

“Great”

“Yeah, so I’m assuming you got enough clothes judging by the amount of shopping you brought back”

“Oh Steve, don’t be fooled. They’re all bags from the toy shop” Pepper told him, heading towards the coffee machine. Tony grinned and Steve shook his head.

The kids reappeared and the remaining bags were added to the others.

“I think we’re going to have to be careful out and about as well. The paparazzi almost made us twice today” Pepper warned as Clint and Natasha dug through the bags in search of something in particular. (Clint was after his bow and arrows while Natasha wanted her new books)

Steve and Tony instead convinced the kids to join them in a game of risk (which Tony had insisted on buying at the store as it had been one of his childhood favourites) while Pepper started unpacking the rest of the shopping. 

Entering the kids bedroom to find somewhere to put their new clothes, she smiled when she saw the photo she’d given to Natasha placed by her bedside.

Unpacking the toys was less fun. Tony needed teaching what is classed as ‘appropriate’ for two mini-assassins. He’d bought all sorts, probably largely influenced by Clint. Nerf guns, walkie talkies, binoculars, a plastic bow and arrow set, a home laser tag set, night vision goggles... He’d got assassin’s creed and various shooting/spy games for the PS4 and then he’d gone overboard buying scooters, roller blades, board games, card sets, a dart board... How they’d even got all of this in the car was beyond her.  
Pepper sighed; she suspected most of this stuff was Tony’s idea anyway...

After Natasha successfully beat the others at a game of Risk (and then a game of Rummikub _and_ Clue); Pepper called an end to game night because Clint was sulking. They had dinner and watched one of the new DVDs together before Clint and Natasha went to bed with their new books.

“They seem to have settled in really well” Steve observed as the two children walked to their bedroom, chatting away down the hall. 

“Thanks for all your help Pepper” he added a few minutes later, watching the woman smiling fondly at the security footage of the kids in their room which Jarvis was displaying for them on Tony's tablet. Clint had fallen almost instantly asleep, barely having finished the first page of his book. They watched as Natasha climbed from her bed to pull his comforter up over him and took his book from his slackened grip. Turning off the light, she curled back into her own bed, reading her own book by torch light; not wanting to disturb the peaceful sleep Clint was enjoying.

She wouldn’t let herself sleep yet, she was too scared the nightmares would return as they did most nights. Or even worse; that when she woke up, she wouldn’t be here in the tower; safe, and with friends, she feared she’d wake up back there, where each day was a fight for survival. She didn’t ever want to go back there.

“You know, you surprised me today Tony. You’re better with kids than I’d ever have imagined” Pepper told her boyfriend, leaning into his embrace once she was happy the kids had settled.

“Yeah well, don’t get any ideas” he warned her, kissing her on the top of the head as she leant on his shoulder.

“Well, goodnight” Steve excused himself from Tony and Pepper’s floor for an early night. Something told him that tomorrow would be a long day.


	16. XVI

The next morning the kids got up early, and as such; Tony’s hope of a lie in went out the window.  
He heard a crash from the kitchen, panicked Hydra had somehow broken in, and ran down the hallway in nothing more than his boxer shorts. As it turned out, it was nothing more sinister than Clint dropping the plates he’d been trying to get out of the cupboard and Natasha had burning the toast.

After cleaning up their mess, he went to take a shower and get dressed while Pepper kept an eye on them.  
Steve joined them shortly later and Clint asked for a rematch of Clue.

Part-way through the game (just as Natasha was about to win, again) Jarvis interrupted;

“Sir, Agent Coulson is on the phone. He says it’s urgent”

“Hold the line Jarvs, I’ll take this in private” he said, smiling reassuringly at Natasha as she glanced nervously in his direction, before leaving the four of them to continue with the game.

 

“What is it Phil?”

“There anyway you can bring the kids back down to medical?”

“What? Why?”

“There were some... anomalies with the blood results; they need another sample to run some more tests”

“They’re just starting to settle in, can’t I take some blood here and bring it down to you? I don’t want to upset them more than necessary”

“Sure, but make it fast?”

 

Half an hour later; Tony and Pepper were on their way back to Shield with several vials of Clint and Natasha’s blood, while Steve opted to stay at the tower and try to burn off some of their energy.

They played on the wii for a while before heading down to the gym. 

Steve set them both up on treadmills, before they attempted the climbing wall. Clint asked if they could have a go on the sparring matt, but Steve caught Natasha’s sly grin and opted to say no to that one; instead he hung two punching bags next to each other. When Clint saw Natasha’s technique of hitting and kicking the bag he was glad Steve had said no to a spar. 

Next, Steve went about teaching Clint how to do pull ups while Natasha watched. She had no interest in joining them so she went over the sparring matt and started to dance. Steve watched in amazement as she twirled and leapt; dancing the perfect ballet even in the absence of music. Steve always knew Natasha liked to dance, but he’d never actually seen her. He didn’t realise just how good she was. Clint climbed up to perch on the bar in order to watch too, but Natasha froze and blushed when she realised all eyes were on her.

“Go on” Steve encouraged, smiling and turning to continue teaching Clint. Steve quietly asked Jarvis to play some music, and he was happy to see Natasha had gone back to her performance now no one was watching; a smile of pure content worn on her face as she picked up her pace.

Natasha, Clint and even Steve were tired, sweaty and hungry by now; so they headed back to Tony’s floor for some dinner.

They were halfway through their spaghetti when Pepper and Tony got home. Ah hour later, when Clint and Natasha were playing darts; Steve got his chance to ask them what had happened at Shield;

“They got any news yet?”

“No, they just said there were some _’strange’_ readings from the blood samples and wanted to rerun the tests, as well as some additional ones. They weren’t big on the talking”

 

Over the next two days they heard nothing from Shield, at least not officially. Phil let them know they were still looking into the blood work, but they got no more details than that. 

The time passes quickly as Clint and Natasha settled in even more at the tower; Pepper taught them to bake, they had regular game sessions; whether it be board games, competing on the wii, or playing on the playstation. Tony got into trouble when he let them race on their roller blades around the tower which resulted in a broken television. They played laser tag, which Steve was sure Tony enjoyed just as much as the kids, and Natasha finished all seven of her Harry Potter books. She continued to dance, while Clint continued to use the gym and they steadily made their way through all the kid-friendly DVDs Tony had.

Tony and Pepper’s floor had become a safety hazard. There were roller blades and scooters, plastic guns, goggles and controllers, a radio controlled car, discarded clothes, books and jigsaw pieces scattered about the floor. The five of them spent the whole morning tidying.

That afternoon Pepper went back into work for a few hours to catch up on some paperwork, leaving Steve and Tony strict instructions that under no circumstances, was she to return to a mess.

Tony had finally received the blueprints for the machine Shield though Hydra might have used to revert their resident assassins into children, and was examining them in his lab.

Steve excused himself from watching Frozen with Clint and Natasha in order to take a phone call from Agent Hill.

“Hey Tasha, wanna go play?”

“No, I like this film!”

“Yeah I know, we’ve watched it nine times!” he groaned

“Shush!”

Natasha was singing along to ‘Let it Go’ while Clint snuck off to find his bow and arrow set. Just as the song finished, a plastic arrow with a suction cup attached stuck to the center of the TV, and a second latter one hit Natasha in the side of the head.

“Clint!”

“Come on Tasha, come play”

“No!”

Another arrow to the head was all it took for Natasha to grab her nerf gun and shoot Clint rapidly; all five shots hitting him in his forehead.

“You’re on” he grinned at her, shooting another arrow which would have hit her right in the face had she not already dove behind the sofa. They shot and ducked, rolling across the floor in order to retrieve their spent ammo and keeping count of the amount of hits they's got in. Natasha was in the lead, but only just.

The two were at battle with one another for about ten minutes before Tony came back into the room. Natasha hit him twice with the nerf gun and Clint managed to stick one of his suction arrows to his forehead before he’d even fully emerged from the elevator.

“Right then” he said, strolling to the kitchen area. Clint and Natasha eyed each other suspiciously from their hiding place under the table, and were both taken by surprise when Tony soaked them with a water gun. 

They screamed and shrieked as cold water soaked their hair and clothes, scrambling out from beneath the table while shooting their own weapons.

Steve ran back into the room, only to get soaked and pelted too, before leaving again;  
“Sorry Hill. No it’s nothing; just an impromptu water fight”

Pepper arrived back a few minutes later, glaring at the three of them until they all muttered their apologies. As Clint and Natasha set about collecting their projectiles, Tony couldn’t resist shooting Pepper with the water gun... Just once.


	17. XVII

“What did Hill have to say?” Pepper asked as Tony and the kids went to get dried up. (Pepper had snatched the water gun from Tony's grasp and made him sorry he'd ever tried to soak her)

“They still don’t have much. The second blood tests came back abnormal, and they're still waiting on a few results. They haven’t worked out what any of it means yet”

“No luck getting the Hydra agents to talk?”

“Not yet, but Hill thinks they’re getting closer”

Clint and Natasha ran back into the room, putting a swift end to the conversation

“Clint, those pants are too big, they’re falling down”

“They’re all like that!” he insisted, hitching them back up and turning on the TV

She sighed; he was just too lazy to go get changed again and wanted to play with Steve on a racing game.

She passed Natasha the glass she was trying to reach from the cupboard and went to speak to Tony.

“You’re a big kid you know” she told him, picking up his soaked jeans from the floor and throwing them at him

“We were just having some fun”

“I know" she smiled; "I love seeing you with them” she told him fondly while getting changed herself. “I thought you moved the glasses down so the kids could reach them?”

“I did”

“No you didn’t”

“I did, I moved them the other day”

"Well Tasha can't-"

A knock at the door interrupted them

“Hello?” Pepper called, pulling her hair back into a simple ponytail

“I’m going to head to the store and get some bits, there anything you need?” Steve called

“Clint wanted some apple juice” Tony shouted back

“Right, see you later”

“You know what Pepper?” Tony asked, quietly, crawling across their bed to sit beside her

“I know where you think this is heading Tony Stark, but not now”

“It’s been so long since we’ve been alone. Can’t the terrible twosome stay with Steve for just one night?”

“Tony-“

“We could go out for a nice meal, just the two of us” he asked, pleadingly 

There was suddenly a yell from the other room and Tony sighed; “See, we need some time _alone_ ” he told her, getting up to go and see what had happened.

He found Clint sat at the table, clutching his face and crying. Natasha was nowhere to be seen, but her bowl of abandoned ice cream sat untouched next to Clint’s.

“Clint, what happened?” Tony asked gently, pulling his hand down and away from his face to reveal a horribly swollen black eye

Clint was too distraught to talk; his sobbing leaving him incoherent and gasping for breath.

At the appearance of Pepper in the room, Tony turned his attention to the missing piece;

“Natasha!” he called, looking around the open plan living space while Pepper grabbed some ice for Clint’s face.

He looked everywhere he could think of, visiting the gym and the roof before returning to his floor of the tower. 

“Natasha, sweetheart; you’ve really got to come out now! This isn’t funny anymore!” 

Tony thought it was odd calling her ‘sweetheart’, though it had become a regular occurrence recently. He'd have to get out of the habit quickly once they were returned to adults; If he ever slipped up and called Natasha a sweetheart once she'd been re-aged; the consequences could be dire!

He eventually found her huddled in the back of her closet. It was pitch black and she sat hugging her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them as she watched Tony awkwardly climb in to sit in the closet beside her.

“You going to tell me what happened?” he asked. Stern, but gentle.

“It wasn’t me”

“I never said it was”

Her green eyes looked up to his, reading him carefully for any tricks or games. Tony could see she’d been crying and kept his expression neutral.  
There had been no one else in the room with them, and it wasn’t beyond Natasha’s skill level to give a young boy a black eye, but then; Natasha and Clint got along great (when she wasn’t beating him at games), and since that initial misunderstanding at Shield, Natasha hadn’t been violent once...

“I don’t know what happened. But it wasn’t me”

“Then why’d you run away?”

“I was scared”

“Scared of what?”

“That you wouldn’t believe me. That I’d get them blame and then I’d be... I’d-“

“Natasha, it wasn’t you. So it’s fine. But even if you did do something wrong; that’s okay too. You don’t need to be afraid while you're here, okay?”

She nodded, but she looked doubtful.

“Is Clint okay?” she asked tentatively 

“Let’s go see”

 

Clint was lay on the sofa clutching an ice pack over his swollen eye and cheek. Two empty bowls of ice cream were beside him while he watched The Incredibles on the TV

“Tasha! Come watch this with me?” he asked hopefully, placing the ice pack on the floor. His eye looked terrible; black bruising spread across his face. She looked hesitantly towards Tony who nodded and gave her a gentle push, before he joined Pepper in the kitchen. 

“You find out what happened?” Tony asked quietly

“No, he said it just hurt all of a sudden”

“Natasha said he just screamed and then it was bruised... No idea why. I’m going to check the footage Jarvis got before I mention it to Shield, you okay here?”

“Yeah” she nodded, joining Clint and Natasha on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa for them both.

 

In his lab Tony watched the footage over and over; both kids had been right in that suddenly, out of nowhere Clint’s eye bruised and swelled. He cried out, and Natasha fled. 

He explained the situation to Phil over the phone, and then again to Hill and finally to Fury;

“That may go some way to explaining what we’re seeing here. You and Rogers need to bring them back down here ASAP. The situation just got upgraded”


	18. XVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Please note Chapter II is an addition chapter also*

Tony walked back into the lounge to find the film had finished. Pepper was in the kitchen with Steve making dinner while Natasha was lay with her head in Clint’s lap; reading a book out loud for him to listen to.

Pepper had filled Steve in and they were both waiting for Tony to let them know what Shield had said.

Tony glanced back to the two children on the sofa, Clint was gently playing with Natasha’s long hair but she had stopped reading now, waiting to listen to Tony

“We need to go back to Shield” he announced to the four people all eagerly awaiting an update

“Why, what’s wrong?” Natasha asked, abruptly sitting up and startling Clint

“They just want to have a look at Clint, make sure he’s okay and run a few more tests on you both”

“They still don’t know what’s wrong?” Steve asked

“I didn’t get the full story” Tony answered simply. There was clearly more to be said, but not while Clint and Natasha were present.

“Come on, it’s cold outside. Let’s go get some sweaters for you two” Pepper told them, leading the two kids down the hallway.

The panic in Natasha’s eyes made Tony feel instantly guilty

 

“Tony, what’s going on?” Steve asked quietly

“I’m not sure. Shield said they’d upgraded the situation; they should have a more detailed explanation when we get there”

“Upgraded? But it was already classified as a Category 5, I didn’t think there was anything higher?”

“I guess there is...”

 

The five of them arrived at Shield HQ shortly after and headed straight to medical. There were several doctors and scientists milling around, as well as a familiar face.

“Bruce? When did you get back?” Tony asked, approaching his friend who was playing with a new piece of equipment Shield had just brought in.

“Oh hi Tony, I just got back yesterday. Fury asked me to come in and-“

His speech faltered as he caught sight of the small red-haired girl stood silently beside Tony and looking around, only partially concealing the fear she was feeling. She didn't like doctors, didn't trust the medical tests; ever since the Red Room had opened up her brain and had a play...

His gaze wondered over to Steve and the short blond boy following him round like a shadow

“Okay, so this is weird”

“You kind of get used to it” Tony smiled at him

“We need to take the children to run some tests now” Doctor Montgomery informed them, causing Natasha to shift ever so slightly towards Tony. He rested his hand on her shoulder to calm her, the last thing they needed right now was for her to freak out

A medical gown was passed to each of the kids, and Pepper took Natasha off to help her change.

Clint quickly changed and had his eye looked over by the medical staff; it was a pretty severe black eye but no they were satisfied no major damage was done.

They started on his tests while Natasha was getting changed; they took his obs and a swap of cells from his cheek. They did body scans, took more blood, measured and weighed him, and finally took some X-rays.

Pepper walked down the hall towards the women’s changing rooms with Natasha; not that she needed help getting dressed, but Pepper knew how much she feared the doctors and felt she could use some company.

Pepper noticed the bruises straight away; they ran down her back and across her stomach, down her legs and up her chest; black and blue marks everywhere but her face. Pepper wasn’t sure what upset her more; the fact someone had actually done this to her, or the fact she hadn’t thought it important enough to even mention. Every movement must hurt like hell, and even after seeing what happened to Clint; she hadn’t told Tony or herself about her injuries. 

Natasha quickly pulled the hospital gown over her battered body, happy it covered the worse of the bruising before following Pepper back down the hallway. 

She underwent the same examinations as Clint had while Bruce looked over the data the machines were compiling.

“You get anywhere with the blueprints?” Hill asked Tony

“Not really, it’s way more advanced than anything I’ve seen, possibly from another planet, but I’m not sure. I could probably get further if I had the actual tech rather than just the blueprints” he hinted

“I’m afraid that can’t happen, the machine was destroyed after it was used”

“There’s nothing left?

“Nothing at all”

“Dammit”

 

“Tony, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure Pep, what is it?”

“You need to talk to Natasha”

“What, why?”

“She’s covered in bruises, literally covered. You need to find out if she has any more injuries she’s not told us about, you need to let her know that she can tell us if she’s hurt”

“Why me? Why didn’t you-“

“Because she trusts you the most, and this is too important for her to not listen to. Please?”

“Okay, I’ll have a word when medical have finished”

 

Tony did as he promised, and Natasha promised she’d tell them from now on if she was hurt. Following the scans they discovered she had two fractured ribs and the doctors were amazed she’d been able to hide it; she must be in agony.

Pepper and Maria took the two children down to the canteen to get some ice cream with Bruce and Tony talked science and the doctors analysed the findings.

“This just doesn’t make any sense”

“What doesn’t Banner?” Fury asked, desperate for answers

“Their cells are in a state of flux; the lengthening telomeres tell me they’re getting younger, but sometimes it’s rapid, like they’re losing two or three days a minute, other times it’s much slower, but sometimes it’s static, like they’re frozen”

“So we were right? They're still de-aging?”

“Yes, but there’s no way to estimate how fast. There’s no pattern or reason I can see as to the speed they’re regressing”

“But, it doesn’t make sense” Tony added, suddenly joining the conversation

“What’s up now Stark?”

“They’re basically going back in time right?”

The two men, and several other people listening in nodded

“But they remember what happened yesterday, when they were technically older. Shouldn’t they forget?”

“I guess so...”

“And their injuries, we’re assuming Clint got hit and developed a black eye in the past, which is why he has one now, but it appeared suddenly, like he’d just been hit again. Shouldn’t it have developed slowly, over the course of at least a few days; as in the opposite of it healing..?”

“I see your point”

“So they’re de-aging, but still progressing forward..?”

"This whole thing is messing with my head" Fury declared, rubbing his temples to try and prevent the oncoming migraine

“What I’m more concerned with, is what happens when they reach zero?” Bruce asked quietly


	19. XIX

Steve, Tony, Pepper, Clint and Natasha were left waiting in one of the conference rooms while the data was analysed, information was colated and blood tests were processed.

“Okay; Clint, Natasha. What we need you to do is think really hard, and write down every time you were hurt or injured when you were younger, okay?” Dr. Montgomery asked

The two kids stared at her like she was crazy

“This is really important” she emphasised, but they just looked at her and didn’t make a move towards the pens and paper on the table. Dr Montgomery was chosen to lead on this because both Clint and Natasha's adult selves liked her; which was a lot seeing as they both hated doctors, however it seems in their child forms, they didn't quite have the same trust in her.

She looked to the three adults, who nodded their agreement to help before she turned and left the room. 

Steve tackled Clint, who had figured out what was going on;

“You need to know because we’re gonna get hurt again don’t you?” 

Steve opted for the truth, there was no point in lying, and at the end of the day; this was still Clint Barton; his friend and teammate.

“Yeah buddy, but we’re working on fixing that, alright?” 

Clint nodded and took the pen, scrawling a few notes down before sitting back in his seat. Shield had Clint’s medical file, which was almost complete anyway, they knew most of what was to come, but coming from an abusive family meant it was quite possible most of his injuries, especially when he was younger, were hidden and disguised.

Tony and Pepper spoke to Natasha, despite them both knowing she had figured it all out too. 

Her medical file was significantly less complete than Clint’s, infact they had virtually nothing from when she was Natalia Romanova; those files having been long lost or destroyed. 

“Natasha-“

“I can’t”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know, I don’t remember”

Tony glanced uneasily at Pepper, who was knelt on the floor beside Natasha 

“You can’t remember anything?”

“I can remember, but I don’t know what is real and what’s made up...”

“This just got a whole lot harder” Tony whispered to Pepper

“Have I mentioned how much I hate the Red Room?” she responded quietly

“Not in the last 60 seconds...”

They managed to get a few things scribbled down from Natasha, but she, like her adult self, seemed reluctant to talk about her past. And for the first time; Tony understood why. 

Most of what they’d gotten out of her were training accidents, and injuries obtained from the other girls, but they suspected there was a lot more she wasn’t saying. Both Tony and Pepper knew she was tortured as part of her upbringing in the Red Room, and they dreaded the day they’d have to deal with that.

Once they’d handed in their notes to the doctors they were allowed to leave, the kids got changed back into their clothes and Steve and Pepper took them back to the tower while Tony stayed to work with Bruce.

Pepper and Steve found themselves constantly reassuring Clint and Natasha that they’d be fine, they they’d find a solution and they’d fix it; but it was more for their own sake than the kids. 

 

“Do you think they’ll fix us before we get real little? Like babies?” Clint asked, long after they’d gone to bed. Tony still hadn’t come home and neither of them could sleep.

“I think they’ll try” Natasha answered honestly, gazing at the photo Pepper had given her on the first day. Natasha looked at the way her adult stood leaning into Clint, content and happy; Clint’s adult form had his arm over her shoulder and was smiling at her. They both looked comfortable, surrounded by their friends; the team looked happy and Natasha fell asleep hoping they could be happy like that again.


	20. XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance

Tony climbed into bed later that night (well, morning; it was gone 4am) after going over the data with Bruce in the lab, desperately trying to find a cure. They were painfully aware that this problem had a ticking clock; if they didn’t act fast enough Clint and Natasha would be de-aged out of existence.

He scooted in closer to Pepper, who turned in his arms. He was surprised to find her awake at this hour

“I don’t think I can do it Tony” she admitted in a whisper, she looked like she’d been crying

“Do what Pepper?” he asked, suddenly concerned

“Watch them, watch them go through all that again; they had horrific childhoods, and I don’t think I can sit here while they’re hurt and beaten and in pain and just do nothing”

“You’re not doing nothing Pepper, you’re here to help them, and comfort them. They’re not alone this time Pepper, and it’s important they know that”

“They’re just so small...” a tear rolled down Pepper’s cheek, and Tony realised just how hard this must be on her. She’d cared for them in a similar situation before, but the circumstances were very different. Last time they’d been de-aged they’d arrived injured, but they had healed and were just like normal children; they had ice creams and went to the beach... But now they were continuously getting younger, with all the knowledge of what was happening to them and what was to come; they were scared and there was little comfort Tony, Pepper or Steve could give against the inevitable. They knew at some point Clint would get a broken arm from when his father had too much to drink and pushed him down the stairs, they knew Natasha would suddenly appear with a stab wound because she’d been too scared to make her first kill and her mentor had turned the weapon against her... The only thing they could do to try and prevent it was re-age them before it happened, but it wouldn’t erase the fact it had already happened...

“You can do this Pepper, if anyone can do this it’s you” he whispered into hair, kissing her temple. Pepper sighed, doubting Tony’s words; she’d already learnt more than she ever wanted to know about Natasha’s horrific childhood the last time this had happened, but it appeared she didn’t even know the half of it...  
It was a long while before the two of them managed to fall asleep

 

Over the next few days things were relatively normal, Bruce moved back into the tower and he and Tony spend hours a day working in the labs to try and cure their friends. Natasha’s broken ribs healed and Clint’s bruises disappeared and for a while, everything was simple. 

Then one night Tony and Pepper were woken by a frantic knowing on their door, they opened it to find a worried looking Clint stood there, too shocked to even speak. The two adults tore down the hallway to find Natasha gasping for breath; she was covered in blood and hysterical and Tony didn’t have a clue what to do

“Jarvis, wake Bruce and tell him to meet me in the medical wing!”

“Right away sir”

He lifted Natasha from her bed, her small body going limp in his arms as she lost consciousness, and he ran, he was actually panicking, and that didn’t happen often

His glance caught with Pepper’s for a moment when he exited the bedroom, she was knelt on the floor with Clint in her arms and her gaze said it all; she was scared too

Boarding the elevator, Tony ran almost instantly into Steve, who’s face dropped instantly. He swiftly moved out of the way, and Clint threw himself at him instead; his small hands covered in Natasha’s blood as he’d tried to stop the bleeding. Pepper joined Tony in the elevator and they rode it down to Bruce’s lab in silence. 

“Tony, what’s the-“

On seeing Natasha Bruce switched into doctor mode, grabbing an oxygen mask and gauze, blood for a transfusion and a copious amount of bandages  
He set about stopping the bleeding; the worst of which was coming from a deep stab wound in her abdomen

Tony and Pepper watched on from the corner of them room, unable to do anything in order to help

She finally stabilised; her blood pressure crept back up, pulse rate dropped back to normal and her O2 stats improved, only then did the three adults breathe a sigh of relief. They told Jarvis to inform Steve, and not a minute later Clint was running through Bruce’s lab to the small medical bay that Tony had built in a few years ago

“Tasha?” he asked gently, holding her hand in his, but it was no use; she was still unconscious

“She’ll be okay Clint” Bruce reassured him, taking another look at the readings on the monitor by her bed

“You promise?”

Bruce looked up to Tony and Pepper, glancing as Steve entered before looking back to Clint, knowing he couldn’t make that promise;

“For now, she’ll be awake soon” was the best comfort he could offer

He was right; Natasha woke a few hour later with Clint curled up at the foot of her bed.  
And just like the adult Natasha, she insisted on leaving right away.

Bruce finally relented when she managed to convince Clint to unplug all the monitors and help her back to the elevator where they ran into Steve. Steve carried Natasha the rest of the way, and the two kids spend the day on the sofa watching films. Natasha dosed on and off, but she didn’t seem too worse for the ware considering she’d just almost died.

“What on earth did they do to her?” Pepper asked quietly, watching the two children from across the room as she drank her coffee; it had been a sleepless night

“God only knows”

“And we always wondered why she hated talking about her past...”

“You know, I don’t think this could have happened to a worse two...”

The other three nodded their agreement with Steve’s comment. They heard two voices laughing from the lounge are as Clint and Natasha watched Despicable Me, and the four adults couldn’t help but smile, they went and joined them and the six of them fell asleep in the lounge.


	21. XXI

“Tony, we need to go shopping again” Pepper called from the other room

He sighed, they’d been shopping practically every single day for one thing or another... “Why this time?”

“None of Natasha’s clothes fit” she called again, as the child in question ran past Tony wearing a dress which was clearly too big for her. She was laughing, and Clint was chasing her also laughing. Natasha’s tights caused her to skid across the floor and she ended up in a heap by Steve’s feet, Clint soon fell over her and the two of them were in fits of giggles on the floor

It was nice to see them happy again, now that Natasha had recovered from her injuries

“They’re deaging at different rates, aren’t they?” Pepper asked Tony when he joined her in the kids bed room, she was sorting though their clothes and there was a huge pile that were too big for them

“Yeah, but we still have time. Medical reckon Tasha is about 6 to 6 and a half at the moment, and Clint is somewhere between 8 and 9”

“Do you know why? I mean Tasha’s lost over two years and Clint’s lost what, one and a bit?”

“As best we can guess they deage less when they’re happy, and it speeds up when they’re hurt or scared or upset, which is why Tasha is getting so young so quick. I just hope when she hits four; before the red room took her, she had a relatively normal childhood right, so it should slow right down”

Tony peered round the corner to see Clint thrown over Steve’s shoulder as Natasha was jumping to try and ‘save’ him, she chased Steve round the lounge while he ‘kidnapped’ Clint and eventually threw her over his other shoulder 

Steve tickled them both and they shrieked and wiggled and squealed, so he threw them both down on the couch 

Tony laughed as Steve turned around and Natasha jumped on his back, and somehow managed to climb up to his shoulders, Clint clung to his legs so he couldn’t move and shouted “We got you! We got you! We win”. They wouldn’t let him go until he surrendered, and after that Steve and Pepper took the two of them out for ice cream before going to stock up on yet more clothes

 

Tony headed back to the lab where Bruce was rubbing his eyes tiredly; he hadn’t left the lab in almost five days

“I brought you some food”

Bruce jumped slightly, he hadn’t notice Tony’s arrival

“Thanks” he said, taking a mouthful of coffee and a large bite of sandwich

“Where is everyone?”

“Tasha needs new clothes”

Bruce nodded sadly, he’d noticed her shrink by at least a few inches over the past few days, but if he and Tony were right; now she was fully healed she should stabilise for a while 

“You know, I was thinking about bring Jane Foster in on this, I know she’s an astrophysicist, but she has a lot of medical background too... And it’s someone we know we can trust. She was a big help last time this all happened...”

“A set of new eyes can’t be a bad thing” Tony agreed

“I’ll ring her later” Bruce said, pushing his glasses back on his nose as he tuned back to his work

“Anything?”

“Nothing new, what about Shield?”

“No, Fury yelled at me last time I rang; they’re still not getting anywhere with the remaining Hydra agents, and when I asked where his interrogation experts were he yelled ‘ **She’s currently playing with goddamn dolls in your frickin tower!** ’ and hung up on me

“He’s stressed"

“He’s not the only one”

 

“Pepper, can I have _two_ ice creams?” Clint asked hopefully

“No Clint, you can I have one ice cream”

“But I can’t decide!” he whined

“Well you’ll have to decide” Pepper told him, copying his whining voice and Natasha laughed

“What flavours do you want?” Natasha asked, reaching up on her tip toes to see over the counter, but she was too short and still couldn’t see

“Mint chocolate chip and mocha coffee” Clint said longingly, trying his best to convince Pepper but she wasn’t budging

“Want to share?” Natasha offered, jumping now to try and see all the flavour Clint was looking at. Steve lifted her up so she could finally see

Clint agreed quickly, before Natasha could change her mind 

They ate their ice cream before heading over to the mall once again

Pepper bought some clothes for Natasha, and some more in the next size down as well to prevent them needing to go shopping again too soon

“Pepper, I’m bored” 

“I know Clint, sorry. We’re almost done”

“I don’t like that one Pepper... Or that one” Natasha informed her

She sighed and put several of the tops back on the shelve

“Can we go now?”

“Clint”

“Please Pepper, shopping is boring”

“From now on, I’m buying everything online” Pepper whispered to Steve as she went to the counter to pay


	22. XXII

The next few days, as far as Clint and Natasha were concerned at least, were relatively good fun. Steve taught them to play basketball after lowering the basket so Natasha had a chance of scoring, Tony taught them to ride the bikes he’d bought for them; taking them to the park for the afternoon when the weather was nice, Pepper took them to the museum (which was an eventful day in itself until Clint got them kicked out), and Bruce took them to the zoo for the day when Tony convinced him to have a day off and leave the lab.

Jane was due to fly out sometime over the next few days and Bruce was looking forward to getting a fresh set of eyes on the problem, knowing they would start running sort of time soon where Natasha was concerned

 

Natasha was sat painting while Pepper worked on her laptop in the lounge; Clint was restless, and had taken to purposely bugging Natasha for something to do

“What’s that?”

“It’s a flower Clint”

“What’s that?”

“A tiger”

“Well what’s that?”

“Clint! Stop it”

“Stop what?”

"Asking stupid questions"

"We're not supposed to say 'stupid'"

"Well don't be stupid then"

"Tasha?"

"What Clint?"

"Tasha"

"What?"

"Tasha"

"Stop it Clint"

"Stop what?"

“That!”

“What?”

“You’re doing it on purpose!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Clint!”

“Tasha!” he whined, imitating her voice

“Стоп его!” she stuttered, frustrated. When she was annoyed she slipped back into Russian and Clint grinned knowing he’d managed to wind her up enough to cause her to

“Geez Tasha calm down”

“You’re so annoying!”

“That’s not nice!”

“Leave me alone Clint”

“Pepper! Natasha is being mean to me!”

“Natasha be nice” Pepper called back absently in the middle of a phone conversation

Clint grinned again and Natasha narrowed her eyes, that was when Clint knew he’d pushed her too far; he was too slow to suck when a blob of purple pain hit him in the face

Natasha stuck her tongue out at him, satisfied she’d finally shut him up

He stared in her in disbelief for a second while she went back to painting her picture

She was suddenly interrupted however when Clint retaliated by wiping a smear of red paint across her face. She turned quickly and her paintbrush of green paint covered Clint’s sweater

He grinned wickedly; this wasn’t quite what he’d imagined but at least he had something to do now. Natasha threw black paint in Clint’s hair and he coated her sleeve in yellow, she poured a pot of orange down his back while he rubbed pink paint into her hair. By the time Steve returned from the shops and saw them they were each covered

One stern glare (which he’d been perfecting over the past few days) was enough to make the two kids freeze in place 

“He started it!” “It was her fault!” they said in unison, glaring at one another 

“Oh my God!” Pepper exclaimed on seeing the state of them, and her dining area, following a five minute conversation on the phone

“Go and run a bath, and then come back and help us clean up” Pepper informed Clint and Natasha clearly before grabbing starting to clear the table

“Wow, you can’t take your eyes off them for more than a minute” Steve took in the scene in slight disbelief

“I wouldn’t even chance the 60 seconds with those two” Pepper answered back as the two kids in question walked back down the hallway; leaving a trail of rainbow coloured footprints on their way and Pepper sighed

“Socks off!”

Clint sat on the floor to remove the socks; leaving a giant blob of blue paint where’d he’d sat down

“On second thought, just don’t move!” 

Steve volunteered to clear the table while Pepper went to help Natasha get the paint out of her hair; it would take forever to remove, and even longer if they left it to dry, so Pepper carried Natasha back down the hallway, glad she wasn’t wearing one of her good suits now it was covered in paint.

As they opened the bathroom door Pepper sighed again; though the bath was only half full, the whole bathroom was full of bubbles; they’d overflowed the bath, filled the floor and were now reaching levels close to Pepper’s waist

“Cool!” Natasha said excitedly, trying to climb down from where she sat on Pepper’s hip, but Pepper kept a tight grip and Natasha soon remembered that she was in trouble

“Clint dropped the bubbles in the bath”

“The entire bottle?”

Natasha nodded, glad it hadn’t been her to spill the bubble bath

Pepper had no choice but to venture into the bubble filled bathroom in order to switch off the taps which were still running. When the two of them emerged (Pepper had decided it wasn’t worth putting Natasha down) they were both covered in bubbles; Pepper was less than pleased about that fact but Natasha loved it, blowing a handful of bubbles at Clint as they went back through to the lounge

“Steve, can you take Clint up to your floor to get cleaned up, I’ll use the en suit to sort Natasha out”

Steve nodded, slightly taken aback by the appearance of the two of them covered in bubbles, but he thought it’d be easier not to ask

Clint tried to sneak off to investigate the bathroom a few times but Steve managed to stop him and eventually finished clearing up the table before taking Clint down to his floor so he could use the shower there

It was a bit of a surprise for Tony when he ventured up to his floor to see how the kids were and finding it empty; it was an even bigger surprise when he went into the bathroom...


	23. XXIII

After a few uneventful days at the tower, Phil came to visit the two miniature assassins

“Hey Coulman!” Clint greeted with a smile, pausing his game of tag and causing Natasha to run right into him

“Coulson” Phil corrected, grinning back at his two former agents. The age difference between them was more obvious now than ever; Phil recognised the clothes Natasha wore as some of the once she’d been bought last time this had happened; which meant she'd gotten a lot younger since last time he'd seen them

The two ran off, continuing their game as Phil went to speak with Steve and Tony; the Hydra agents they were questioning had both committed suicide during the night and they had no other leads. Currently they were relying solely on the research Bruce and Tony were conducting, and making little progress with  
Natasha suddenly interrupted their hushed discussions; looking worried and wide eyed and Tony knew instantly there was something wrong. He followed her back down the hallway with Steve and Phil following behind; they found Clint curled up on the floor, clutching his arm and whimpering 

“Come on buddy, let’s go get this looked at okay” Steve said gently, scooping the small child up into his arms and heading down towards Bruce’s lab

“When is Jane Foster due to arrive?”

“She’s supposed to be here by the end of the week; I just hope she’s able to help” Tony said gravely, taking Natasha’s hand and taking her down to the lab so she could be with her friend

Bruce had barely finished putting Clint’s arm in a cast; he’d broken it in two places, when Natasha shouted out in pain and fell to the floor  
She had a bullet stuck in her chest, broken ribs and a collapsed lung; they’d been expecting the stab wound, and Clint’s broken arm. They hadn’t known to expect this.

Bruce set about to work as Clint hovered nervously nearby

Bruce and Tony went back to work once she was stable while Steve sat with the two kids in the lab, Phil had headed back to Shield to let Fury know just how urgent a solution was; seeing them suffer first hand was more than he could handle 

“Is she gonna wake up?” Clint asked, gripping Natasha’s hand awkwardly with his

Clint’s eyes were so big and sad and Steve couldn’t help but feel for him. The poor child was terrified, he was scared about what was to come, worried about his friend and had had to place all his trust in Tony and Steve; his and Natasha’s entire future depended on them finding a solution, and that was almost too much pressure to bear.

“I hope so” was all he could answer; he couldn’t give him false hope. Even as a child Clint would see straight through that ploy 

Natasha did wake soon, and returned to her bedroom that night with Clint. But the next morning he couldn’t wake her; on examination Bruce informed the others than she’d developed an infection and gone into septic shock; it seems they weren’t great with infection control in the red room

It was touch and go for a while; she started showing symptoms of heart failure and Bruce began to worry it was more than her tiny body could handle. But eventually her condition improved and the two kids got better, slowly.

By the time she was back to full health Natasha had lost a lot more time; she spoke with a heavy Russian accent where it was untraceable before, once more none of her clothes fit and neither did any of Clint’s

“I am so sick of buying kids clothes” Pepper commented, arriving back at the tower following a trip to the mall. She’d opted to go alone this time to speed things up  
Clint and Steve barely looked up from the game they were playing on the wii, and Tony wasn’t there; probably in the lab working with Bruce; the two of them had barely left since the incident where both kids had been injured and deaging at the same time

There was a bang from the back room, and Pepper looked around to see Natasha was absent and sighed

“Natasha?” she called, putting down her shopping bags before she went to investigate. But before she left the room, Thor appeared in the doorway, holding Natasha up by her ankle. She swung slightly as Thor examined her with confusion. She giggled and reached down towards the floor, but Thor was holding her high up

“Who does this belong to?” Thor asked loudly, causing Steve and Clint to turn around. Clint’s jaw dropped slightly as he saw the large man in the strange uniform he recognised from the photo by Natasha’s bedside

“Thor, put her down” Pepper instructed, but screamed slightly as Thor released his grip; he reached out and grabbed her again before she could slam into the ground  
Pepper’s eyes were screwed tightly shut as she tensed against Natasha’s cries, but they never came

When she opened them again Thor was stood, holding Natasha by her ankle again as she hung upside down, slight bewildered as to whether that was funny or scary

“Hey mister, you’re Thor!” Clint told him, leaning over the back of the sofa

“You have more than one?” Thor asked, still confused

Natasha looked like she was going slightly red in the cheeks as all her blood rushed to her face

“Thor, _gently_ put her down” Pepper instructed slowly, going over to help Natasha up as she swayed with dizziness 

Pepper was concerned when Natasha stumbled slightly so she picked her up and sat her on her hip; noticing the much smaller size of her than the last time she’d held her

“Thor, this is Natasha and Clint” she said, indicating to the children

“Oh” was all he answered, glancing over the two children and recognising the red curls, blue eyes and mischievous grins of his friends “I see”

Steve sighed, “Come on Thor; I’ll explain everything to you”

“He talks funny” Natasha whispered and Pepper had to agree


	24. XXIV

Jane arrived the day after Thor, and once again couldn’t believe her eyes; as if it wasn’t bad enough The Avengers had been de-aged once, it had happened again, and it was still happening... Continuous de-aging; that was certainly new. She was filled in promptly by Bruce and Tony who gave her a copy of all the scientific data they’d been collating over the past two weeks and Bruce sat with her to go through it.

“Wow, they’re de aging fast” she commented, looking at the figures as Natasha ran past. The little girl ran straight into Pepper as she was too busy watching Thor behind her, the tray of drinks Pepper had been carrying toppled over, soaking Natasha with iced tea. She stood up quickly, unfazed and continued to run before Thor could catch her. Not watching where she was going once again she inadvertently ran straight into Tony’s arms who scooped her up and held the wriggling child under his arm

“How this child grows up to be the ninja-like Natasha Romanoff we all know and fear I will never know; she’s as clumsy as they come” 

“Tony! Let go!” the child in question demanded, but it was less effective than she’d intended as she laughed as he tickled her

“Okay then” Tony told her, faking a movement to drop her, causing Natasha to squealed and he laughed

“I think someone needs a bath” Pepper informed her, looking at her long red hair in pigtails, dripping juice on the floor as she shook her head

“No Pepper! Please?” she begged, eager to continue the game she’d been playing with Thor and Clint who seemed to have continue without her

Tony passed her over to Pepper, allowing her to make the final decision as he went to rejoin Bruce and Jane’s discussion

“5 minutes, but then you really need a bath, you smell like peaches” Pepper told her, placing her back on the floor. She instantly ran off to find Clint, tripping over Steve’s feet as she went

“Sorry Steve” she muttered as she untangled herself from the floor and skidded round the corner

Steve smiled at her before turning to help Pepper clear up the mess

It was a bit more relaxed around the tower now no new injuries had occurred in a while, the de-aging had slowed a little and Tony and Bruce thought they were making some progress in fixing this whole mess

At that moment there was a loud crash in the other room and Pepper sighed as Tony, Bruce and Jane looked up from their work and Steve muttered “It’s your turn”

_What could they have possibly broken this time?_

Pepper threw the juice soaked cloth at Steve with a smile and made her way to the other room. She rounded the corner to see the brand new television in pieces on the floor while Natasha, Clint and Thor looked on guiltily

Natasha was sat on the floor by the broken television while Clint clutched the basketball and moved to hide behind Thor’s large form

“Which one of you was it this time?” Pepper asked, remembering the previous TV which had broken when Natasha crashed her bike into it, plus the glass table that shattered when Clint and Natasha’s pillow fight got out of hand and the several photo frames Clint had smashed with his plastic bow and arrow set

The two kids glanced at each other, before looking to Pepper and back at each other again. Pepper turned the question on Thor since neither child would answer, but he just shrugged

“I’m afraid I do not know Lady Pepper”

“It just broke!” Clint insisted

“On its own?”

Clint nodded and Natasha blushed further

“Do I need to ask Jarvis?” Pepper threatened, going to the ultimate back up

“Я извините Pepper” Natasha muttered, slipping back into her native tongue. She’d been doing this more and more the younger she got; he accent showing through and her speech becoming more stunted as she struggled to think of the right words. Pepper worried she’d lose the ability to speak English all together soon if she got much younger. The Red Room taught her the language from the moment they’d took her at age four; forced her to speak it perfectly so she could be utilised to infiltrate American industries and corporations

“Oh Natasha” Pepper sighed, picking up the young girl from the floor. She’d cut her hands when she’d fallen over the basketball and flown into the TV and she whimpered slightly as Pepper picked out the small shards of plastic stuck in her palms

“Let’s go get Bruce to look at you okay?”

 

Clint watched the two girls leave before turning back to Thor

“Thor, why is Tasha always falling over?”

“I believe Tony referred to her as a ‘klutz’”

“What’s one of those?”

“No idea”

Clint shrugged and pulled out some of Natasha’s art supplied;

“I’m going to make her a card to make her feel better” he informed Thor, while Thor began gathering the pieces of television off the floor

 

Pepper strolled into the lab holding Natasha as Tony, Bruce and Jane seemed to be getting over excited about something

“Bruce, could you come take a look at Tasha’s hands?”

“What happened?” he asked, gently pulling another shard of plastic from her hand

Natasha tried to be and not cry, but tears still escaped her eyes. Pepper felt awful at having to hold her wrists so she couldn’t move; allowing Bruce to do his job so Tony came over and perched Natasha on his lap, he talked to her to distract her and whispered her favourite song. He promised he wasn’t mad about the TV and that he would take her and Clint out for ice cream if she was brave and let Bruce bandage her hands.

 

By the time they returned to the main floor, there was a whole other kind of mess. Tony, holding Natasha in one arm and Pepper’s hand in the other gaped at just how much paint Clint had got everywhere. He smiled proudly as he presented Natasha with a card he’d made all by himself. Inside he’d scrawled;

_’I hope you feel better Tasha. I love you from Clint x’_

She wore the biggest grin on her face as Tony read it out to her and she blushed a furious shade of red, matching the paint covering the floor where Clint had been painting

“Right, come on. It’s ice cream time!” Tony announced, lifting Clint into his free arm and heading towards the elevator

“But Tony” Pepper protested, running after him when he didn’t stop

“But Pepper” he whined, causing the two kids to laugh

“Tony, Natasha is still covered in peach tea and Clint’s wearing almost as much paint as the floor”

“They don’t mind” he told Pepper, “You don’t mind do you” he asked the kids, and smiled when he got the response of shaking heads which he’d expected. “See, they don’t mind”

Tony set the two of them on the ground as they exited the tower and took a small hand in each of his. They headed down the street to their favourite ice cream store as Natasha skipped, Tony caught her as she tripped and held tightly to Clint as he tried to run on ahead

“And hopefully, by the time we get back Bruce and Jane will have a surprise for you” Tony informed them with a smile.


	25. XXV

When they got to the ice cream parlor Clint started pleading for two ice creams, just like he always did when Pepper brought them there, but to his surprise Tony gave in and got him two. Natasha looked up at him with big green eyes and a pouting bottom lip and she didn't even need to ask before he agreed to let her have a second ice cream too.

They took their table by the window and Tony watched as Clint demolished his two ice cream cones in a matter of seconds before asking for a third, this time Tony had to sense to say no. He looked back to Natasha, who had opted for bowls instead of cones, as she stirred the lump of ice cream (or 'iced' cream as she called it) round and round.

"Natasha, what are you doing?"

"It's too cold, I want it to melt"

Tony looked at her while Clint planted his face in his sticky (still paint covered) hands; "She always does this, it takes forever!" he moaned, to which Natasha replied by sticking out her tongue. Clint smiled cheekily at her before swiping a handful of her ice cream. Tony was surprised when she didn't seem that bothered, only to see Clint spit it back out into his hands because he didn't like cherry. It was Natasha's turn to smile smugly now.

Clint sat awkwardly with a handful of spit covered, melting cherry ice cream, and Tony could see the cogs working in his mind so before he had chance to dump it back in Natasha's bowl he sent him quickly to the restroom to get rid of it and wash his hands.

Glancing at his watch to see they'd been there half an hour already and Natasha had yet to touch either bowl of ice cream, Tony gave up waiting and asked the waitress to microwave them for her

"You know, you could just have milkshake in a bowl for all its worth" Tony told her

"But it's not the same" she told him, smiling when the waitress returned with two warm bowls of mush that was previously ice cream. The waitress gave them both a strange look before leaving

Natasha ate painfully slowly and nothing Tony did could encourage her to speed up

"Tony?"

"What is it Natasha?" he asked, rubbing his forehead

"Where is Clint?"

Tony suddenly realised how long he'd actually been gone and thought it was time he went to check on him, asking the waitress, who wasn't happy about it but agreed, to watch Natasha; Tony strolled to the back of the restaurant to look for him.

But Clint wasn't in the men's restroom, and according to the old woman who, he hadn't accidentally gone into the women's either...

And Tony was cursing himself. They've been looking after Clint and Natasha for almost a month now, and they were so close, so close to returning to a team of superheroes rather than some rather inexperienced babysitters and their two charges, and he'd gone and lost one of them

It didn't take long for him to be located though, when the manager of the store found him in the back helping himself to more chocolate ice cream, along with a few waffles and Tony had to apologise and quickly usher the two kids out of the store. Natasha was not pleased she didn't get to finish her ice cream, but looking at the time they'd been out almost two hours, Natasha was still covered in ice tea and Clint in paint, and Tony had several missed calls on his phone. It was definitely time to head back.

Tony watched the two of them walking, hand in hand; chatting, racing, skipping. Trying not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk and hitting each other every time a taxi cab drove past. He watched as Natasha stumbled, but Clint caught her, and Natasha pull Clint out of the path of an oncoming cyclist; he watched and he realised he would miss them.

They'd been such a part of his life for almost a month now that he could understand how Pepper had grown attached the last time this had happened. Sure, he missed the grown up Clint and Natasha, especially since the Avengers hadn't been on a mission since all this had occurred, but the adult Clint didn't like to watch him in the lab like the child Clint, and grown up Natasha certainly didn't fall asleep on his lap like the four year old version did.

They made it back to the tower just as it started raining, leaving Tony to drag Natasha inside as she begged to stay on the sidewalk in the downpour. They rode the elevator up to the labs where Steve and Pepper were waiting with Bruce and Jane

"We have something for you" Tony informed them, when the two miniature assassins looked his way, confusion taking over their features as to why they were here in the lab

Bruce showed them the machine they'd been working on, using a combination of Russian research and the blueprints Tony had from Hydra's original machine  
The kids did not react how they expected;

Clint took a few unsteady steps back, before shouting "I knew you'd send me back! You promised you were different but you're not, you're just like them!" he turned and ran off, seemingly disappearing out of view instantly

Natasha, unsure of how to react or what to think at first, seemed to inherit some of Clint's panic as she looked to Tony in horror

"Please don't send me back! Don't make me go back there please!"

Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she pleaded and begged

No one knew what to say; they all thought they'd known it was coming. This was the 'fix' they'd been searching for, but where they were getting their teammates back, Clint and Natasha were heading back to awful, life threatening situations that no child ought to have to go through.

Steve ran off to find Clint, asking Thor for help while Jane followed. They had no idea where he would be, but Steve thought it best to try start with the roof. When he wasn't there they tried the gym, his and Natasha's room, Tony and Pepper's room, the library, the garage, the communal floor...

Natasha was crying so hard her sobs wracked her whole body, her words long since drowned out by the dramatic intake of hitched breath as the inconsolable child wept. Pepper looks like she was about to cry too, and Tony worried he's holding Natasha so tightly it's hurting her but he can't risk her disappearing like Clint because Steve and Thor still haven't found him. Bruce stood awkwardly in the corner, not knowing what to say or how to even attempt to comfort Natasha where even Tony and Pepper had failed.

Bruce covered the machine with a large piece of cloth and pushed it to the back corner of the room and Natasha visibly relaxed slightly. She slumped into Pepper's arms as her energy levels waned. Pepper stoked her back and whispered in her ear as she held her, tears of her own running down her cheeks.

"I don't w-want to l-leave Pepper. P-please don't make m-me" Natasha wept, and it was Tony's turn to hold her trembling form as he fought back his own emotions

"Tasha, sweetie... Look at me" he asked gently, waiting to see those emerald eyes that got her out of so much trouble

"This machine" he began, noticing Natasha twitch on his knee when he mentioned it, "is not going to send you back, okay. But remember how we talked about you and Clint getting younger... When you came here you were eight, and Clint was ten. But now you're four, and Clint is eight, so we need to stop it before you get too young... Remember?"  
The young girl nodded, peach-smelling curls bouncing as she did

"Well this machine is hopefully going to stop you getting younger, before you get to three, and then you won't get hurt anymore... But we haven't figured out how to make you a grown up again yet"

"So I'll stay four?"

"Hopefully"

"And I can stay here?"

"Yes"

"Forever?"

He smiled; "Forever"

"Pinky swear?"

"Only if you promise to help us find Clint?"

"Deal" she smiled, wiping the tears from her blotchy face before linking fingers with Tony


	26. XXVI

Jane found herself crawling through the air vents above the communal lounge after Natasha suggested this is where Clint would be found, but what she’d do when (and if) she found him, she didn’t know.

They’d decided it wasn’t a good idea to send Natasha into the vents after him for fear she’d bolt too, and she still hadn’t quite gotten over her crying ordeal and was clinging to Pepper for comfort; leaving Jane the only one left who was able to actually fit into the vents.

 _”I knew I should have brought Darcy”_ Jane muttered to herself as she manoeuvred a particularly tricky corner

“Who’s Darcy?” Clint asked, surprising her

He was sulking in the corner, watching through the vents as Natasha dosed on Pepper’s knee 

“She’s my friend”

“Your best friend?”

“Yeah, I guess she is... I should ring her” Jane thought out loud; she'd taken off in a bit of a hurry and Darcy was probably worried about her

“Tasha is my best friend”

“I know she is”

“If Steve and Tony don’t want us no more, if they send us away then I won’t see her anymore”

“Clint, they’re not going to send you away” she told him gently

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“Clint, look down there” she said, directing his vision to where Steve was passing Natasha a glass of warm milk now she’d stirred. She’d crawled into Tony’s lap and the two of them sat watching Scooby Doo on the TV while Pepper fussed over her. “Do you really think they’d send you guys back?”

Clint gazed at Natasha, he could hear her asking about him and she sounded worried. He looked to Thor who tried to distract her from her fears as Tony held her tighter. No one wanted a repeat of the upset they’d had earlier, and all the adults were concerned that Jane had not yet (to their knowledge) found him

Clint shook his head sadly

“Did you hear what Tony told Natasha about the machine?” she asked, trying to shift into a more comfortable position and failing

“No” Clint admitted

“It’s not a fix, they don’t know how to make you back into adults yet. But it should stop you getting any younger, stop you getting hurt”

“That’d good” Clint nods “Tasha is getting real little”

Jane smiled, she didn’t know Clint all that well, but she knew it was typical of him to put Natasha first, always.

The two walked back into the communal lounge hand in hand, receiving relieved smiled from the other five adults while Natasha threw herself into Clint’s arms; it was an awkward hug however, as the height difference between them both now was more noticeable than ever, and Clint refused to let go of Jane’s hand

“I’m sorry I yelled” Clint told Tony

Pepper suggested Natasha and Clint played on the wii while the six adults went to discuss something private in the other room, but Clint seemed reluctant to let Jane go, and so Natasha grabbed Tony’s hand and asked him to stay too.

Pepper, Bruce, Thor and Steve filed into the other room to talk, while Tony and Natasha played against Jane and Clint on Wii Party.

“So who do we test it on?” Bruce began

“What if it doesn’t work, what if it makes it worse?” Pepper asked worriedly, peering round the corner as she heard Jane and Clint cheer, high fiving each other while Natasha huffed

“All the data we have suggests it’ll freeze their again, they won’t get any younger but they also won’t get older. There’s just no way to be sure”

“Wait, if they don’t get any older what happens if they get hurt? They won’t be able to heal themselves” Steve questioned

Bruce shrugged, it was a possibility himself, Jane and Tony had been concerned about, but weighing it up against the rapid deaging it seemed worth taking the risk

“The machine operates using the Asgardian artefact you requested?” Thor suddenly joined the conversation

“Yes”

“Well then if the artefact is removed, the machine ceases to work and the static aging will no longer apply”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive my friend”

“So we’re agreed? We go ahead with it?”

The three adults nodded, returning to the lounge to watch the battle on the wii. Pepper and Bruce joined Natasha’s team while Thor and Steve joined Clint’s and the competition went on for hours, ending in a three-all draw which everyone (other than the kids) thought was for the best.

Natasha was rubbing her eyes and Clint was yawning but they all headed down to the lab before they went to bed. There was no telling when Natasha would receive another training injury or Clint would get another beating and they decided it best not to wait until tomorrow.

“I need you to stand right here” Bruce told them gently, positioning them in the centre of the lab. Clint nodded seriously, taking Natasha’s hand in his

She looked up at him gratefully before schooling her features once again to hide how nervous she felt

Bruce hit the button on the machine, aiming the invisible rays towards the kids who stayed still, despite the icy feeling in their veins.

The machine stopped after a minute or two and Bruce quickly ran a few tests. He was waiting for the results while Natasha slept on the hospital bed using Clint’s lap as a pillow. He played absently with her hair, trying to stay awake while listening to the adults hushed tones

“Did it work?” Pepper asked

“It seems to have; their cells have stopped aging, or de-aging, they’re static”

“If we could sell this we’d make a fortune!” Tony muttered, earning glares from Steve, Pepper and Jane and a small laugh from Bruce

“So we did it, they’re really okay?” Jane asked

“For now, they’re going to be just fine”

 

When they re entered the lab, Clint had fallen to sleep as well; safe in the knowledge that he was safe, he was with friends, and he could trust them.

Tony lifted Natasha from where she slept, causing Clint’s eye to flicker open to check she was alright before he instantly fell back to sleep. She smelled like peaches and her curls were matted from the spilt juice, her tiny form weighing nothing in Tony’s arms as he carried her to bed.

Steve carried Clint back up to his room; he was still covered in paint and smelled like cherries. But he wrapped his arms round Steve’s neck as he carefully lifted him from the bed and half asleep whispered in Steve’s ear “thanks” before he was softly snoring once again.


	27. XXVII

“Tony! Tony! Tony!” Natasha shouted from the kitchen. The billionaire strolled in, followed by Steve and both men took a moment to take in the mess before them  


“I made you dinner Tony!” she told him proudly, which when a long way to explaining the mess. She dragged him over to the table and made him sit down and passed him a plate with a sandwich on it. Steve grabbed a mug of coffee, taking a seat by Tony. The two of them had just eaten an hour ago at Shield, so he wasn’t so bothered no one had made him dinner, but looked at the gooey mess on the plate in front of Tony with avid interest.

“Thanks Tasha” Tony said, picking up the food from the plate. He was just about to take a bite when he caught Clint’s eye; he was shaking his head and waving his hands behind Natasha’s back, signalling to him not to eat it

“Natasha, sweetie, what’s on this sandwich?” he asked, hoping to find an excuse not to eat it and to pass it over to Steve,

“It’s all your favourite things!” she told him happily, eagerly waiting him to eat the meal she’d spent forty minutes making for him 

Clint was still glaring a warning at him, but there was no other option that wouldn’t upset Natasha, so he took a bite, and it was possibly the most disgusting thing Tony had ever eaten, but he forced a smile on his face and continued to chew, struggling to swallow the random mix of things Natasha had stuffed between two pieces of bread

Natasha looked relieved he’d eaten it, and seemed to like it while Steve asked; “So Natasha, what did you put on that sandwich for Tony?”

“Tuna, grapes, garlic, jam, cheese, marshmallows, olives and chocolate sauce” she told him, counting off the items on her hand

“Natasha, Clint, do you guys want some jam sandwiches?” Pepper called, entering the kitchen following a business meeting that morning

Both kids ran off to help and Tony slid the rest of the sandwich subtly in the bin without either child noticing, while Steve tried to suppress his laughter 

“That was awful” he whispered to Steve who almost choked on his coffee when his laughter returned

Clint and Natasha rejoined them at the table a few moments later

“You ate that fast” Clint said suspiciously

“I was hungry” Tony answered, hoping Clint caught the tone and didn’t push it

“Did you like it?” Natasha asked, taking a bite of her own dinner and smearing raspberry jam on her cheeks

“I can honestly say that was the best tuna-grape-chocolate-cheese-marshmallow-olive-garlic and jam sandwich I’ve ever had”

Pepper gave him a strange look before going back to tidying up the kitchen.

Following lunch Thor and Jane took the kids to play basket ball, Natasha sitting on Thor’s shoulders while Clint happily clung to Jane’s hand; he’d become really attached to her recently

“You know you were lucky with that sandwich” Pepper told him, wiping the counters down

“Oh yeah? You would say that, you didn’t have to eat it!”

“All I can tell you is she got lemon, chillies, salami and hummus out the fridge as well”

Tony laughed, Natasha was not a great cook when she was an adult, but she was terrible as a child

“You know because you said you liked it she’s going to want to make you dinner again in the future” Pepper warned

“That’s okay, I’ll just tell her you and Steve were jealous she didn’t make you guys one”

Pepper rolled her eyes before taking a seat beside him

“You know you’re great with her”

“Just don’t tell adult Natasha that when we get her back”

“Speaking of which, how long do you think that’s going to take? Seeing as you’re here and not in the lab with Bruce?”

“No idea, we were working all night and just can’t figure out how to re-age them. We want to make sure we get _our_ Clint and Natasha back, and not just grown up versions of the kids downstairs”

Pepper nodded in agreement, it wasn’t worth rushing, not now they’d stopped the de-aging process

“This is starting to remind me a lot of last time...”

“Why?”

“Well just the ages they are, last time I looked after you all as kids Natasha was five and Clint was seven, now they’re four and eight, it’s not too dissimilar”

“Except you have significantly less kids this time” Steve joined in, having washed all the plates 

“True” Pepper agreed

“Yeah, plus this time you’re not Tasha’s favourite”

Pepper roller her eyes but had to agree, Natasha and Tony had formed a strong bond; one no one would have ever guessed at, just like Clint had formed with Jane, they certainly kept you guessing.

 

In the gym Thor was currently being chased by Clint while Natasha clung to his back. Basketball had fast descended into madness when Clint and Jane got sick of losing (37-1)

Thor quickly dodged out of Clint’s attempt to grab hold of him and instead grabbed the young boy, flipping him upside down. Clint laughed as Natasha tickled his feet and shouted for Jane to come and save him, but she was too busy videoing them to come over and help

“Miss Foster, you have a visitor” came Jarvis’ polite voice, interrupting the fun

Natasha jumped down from Thor’s back, landing easily by his side before running off towards to elevator; she stumbled however and fell, ruining the gracefulness 

Jane grabbed her hand and helped her up before the two girls boarding the elevator, leaving the Thor and Clint play fighting in the middle of the floor

“Jane! What the hell is this message supposed to mean? You take off, without so much as a word and then all I get is a voicemail that’s mostly static, going on about Hydra and children and...” Darcy’s eyes rolled over the young girl with red hair and green eyes hiding behind Jane’s legs and she knew just what the message had meant

“Oh... Not again!”


	28. XXVIII

Clint woke when he felt something poking him in the side, he rolled away from it, sighing and trying to get back to sleep, but it started again; an annoying and consistent poking in his back, but this time it was accompanied by a small whisper of his name;

“Clint... Clint...”

He opened his eyes and rolled back over, seeing Natasha stood by his bedside, clutching the penguin toy she’d been given by Pepper, silent tears streaming down her face

“Bad dreams?” he asked knowingly, she had them a lot; sometimes she’d scream and writhe in bed; waking up Tony and Pepper too, other times she’d just wake herself; sitting bolt upright sweating and breathless as she struggled to shed the images from her head, and other’s she’d cry; tonight was one of those nights.

Clint shifted backwards in his bed, making room for her to crawl in beside him. He always got too hot with Natasha curled up beside him, and never slept well because he was so concerned watching her. Before ‘the fix’, a bad nightmare would cause her to de-age almost as much as an injury, he’d lie next to her and watch to make sure they didn’t return; it was hard to get out of that habit even now there was no risk of her de-aging any further.

She curled up into an impossibly small ball next to him, relaxing instantly as he rubbed her back soothingly. She murmured and lashed out slightly as she fell back to sleep, but fell into a peaceful sleep soon after. Clint lay awake for a while, thinking about how strange his life had become; one minute it was 1984 and he was a ten year old circus performer; now it was 2014, he was living with a team of superheroes and was an eight year old... It didn’t seem real, it sounded mad to even him when he thought about it but this was his life now, and until Tony and Bruce could fix him, he’d make the most of it.

Pepper stood in the doorway to their room, watching the two of them sleep curled up beside one another

“They’re cute when they’re like that” Tony whispered, appearing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist

“It reminds me of last time” she told him, leaning back into his embrace

“It’s a shame they’re not asleep and quiet like this more often” Tony joked

“I heard that” Clint warned, opening his eyes

“You want breakfast kiddo?” 

Clint shook his head “I’m gonna wait til Tasha wakes up” 

 

It was another hour before Clint and Natasha appeared in the kitchen, Natasha still yawning; she’d had a tough few nights and they seemed to be catching up on her

They sat down with Darcy to watch Finding Nemo while Jane cooked pancakes for them, but Natasha had fallen asleep again by the time they were ready

Clint happily ate her share before heading to the gym with Thor to play a game of basketball 

“Tasha, Natasha” Darcy woke her gently; it was nearing lunch time and she’d slept half her day away

She spent the afternoon drawing; she made a picture for each and every person in the tower (except for Clint, she made him two)

Clint and Natasha helped Jane bake a cake, before Tony burnt the dinner so they called for takeout. Once again Natasha fell asleep on Tony’s lap

“Clint, is Natasha sleeping okay?” Jane asked, noticing the young girl sleeping once again

Clint considered his answer, it wasn’t really his problem to tell, but he was worried, so he shook his head; “She has nightmares”

This, of course, was not news to any of them. Her adult self had nightmares, she’d also had them a lot last time this had happened, they just hadn’t realised she’d been suffering with them so badly at the moment 

To try and help Steve pushed the two beds together, so she could be near Clint, without the two of them being too cramped in one bed, Jane bought her a dream catcher and explained how it worked while Bruce built her a nightlight. Pepper got the picture of the team reprinted and framed, the original copy had been folded and carried around by Natasha for far too long for it to be suitable for framing.

The nightmares still came, but she knew she was safe, really safe, because she was surrounded by people who cared.


	29. XXIX

There was a high pitched squeal as Natasha ran through the tower, diving quickly behind Pepper where she clung to her legs and hid

Clint had been chasing her, something concealed in his hands

“Clint, what are you doing?” Pepper asked an air of tiredness in her voice. The two kids were either inseparable and incredibly sweet and caring to each other, or they fought and argued and wound each other up; it was one extreme or the other and Pepper was finding it difficult to keep up

Pepper leaned down to look what Clint held in his hands, while Natasha tightened her grip on Pepper’s legs from behind

When Clint slightly opened his cupped hands Pepper recoiled with a shudder; in his hands was a massive spider. Natasha ran off again and Clint was soon on her tail

“Clint! Don’t! Stop it Clint stop it!” she shouted as she quickly scurried over the back of the couch, receiving a glare from Pepper as she did

“What’s up Tasha, don’t like spiders?”

“Stop it!” she shouted, scowling at him. Somehow it had less effect when Darcy had put her hair in pigtails using red bows

“Clint” Pepper warned, as he set off chasing Natasha again. 

She was too busy watching Clint behind her and ran right into Thor, rebounding off him and falling into Clint. Clint fell and released the spider, who scurried off before he could catch it again

“Aw, it took me all morning to catch that!” he moaned

Natasha stuck her tongue out at him, to which replied by pulling a stupid face. He pulled her hair, and she pushed him hard. Before it could escalate further Natasha was lifted into the air by Thor and passed to Pepper while he scooped Clint up off the floor

“You lost Boris!” Natasha accused from where she sat on Pepper’s hip

“Who?” Clint, Pepper and Thor all asked

“Boris!” she insisted to three blank faces “The spider that lived on my window” she explained as Pepper lowered her back to the floor now the threat of a fight seemed to have passed

“But you don’t even like spiders” Clint stated as Thor put him back on the ground

“I do when I’m not being chased by them _Clinton!_ ”

“Shut up _Natalia!_ ”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Why not? Don’t you like it Natalia?”

“Clint!” she warned, she looked angry but tears pooled in her eyes

“Natalia?” he asked with just a hint of a smirk

Pepper grabbed Natasha before she pounced. Clint watched as tears flooded down her cheeks even if she wiped them away quickly so he wouldn’t see. And suddenly he realised what a jerk he’d been; he was bored, they hadn’t left the tower in days and he felt a little stir crazy. That was no excuse, but it certainly helped to explain his behaviour.

Clint took a few tentative steps forward towards where Pepper had sat on the sofa with Natasha, Thor placed a warning hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off

“I’m sorry Tasha, I didn’t mean to make you sad”

“I’m not sad” came her response; somewhat muffled by the fact her face was firmly buried in Pepper’s neck

Clint glanced nervously to Pepper who shot him her _’you better fix it’_ glare she usually used on Tony

“Well, why’re you crying?”

“I’m not crying” she lied, still refusing to look at him. “I’m mad” she told him

“Okay, well I’m sorry you’re mad”

Natasha sniffled and wiped her face before turning to face him; eyes red and cheeks wet 

“Why’re you so mean?”

“I erm, I didn’t mean to be, I was just teasing”

“Whats that?”

“Erm, teasing is when you say things you don’t really mean”

“I don’t understand” she admitted sighing

“Me either” Clint said, sighing dejectedly. He sat on the floor, where he saw Boris crawling under the table

He scrambled forward, reaching for him as Pepper, Thor and Natasha watched, confused

“Hey Tasha, look what I’ve got” he said happily. She climbed from Pepper’s lap and crawled across the floor to sit in front of Clint

“Boris!” she exclaimed happily, hugging Clint enthusiastically while she struggled not to lose the spider once again

“Come on, you can show me where he lives” he told Natasha, gripping her hand in his while ensuring he still held her ‘pet’ with the other

“Want to hold him?” he asked when they reached their room

“Ew no” she said, dashing away from him, “he lives up there” she told him, pointing up to the top corner of the window.

 

Back in the lounge Thor was confused; “children are strange” he observed

“Not all of them, but Clint and Natasha; definitely” Pepper answered, flicking through a newspaper

“I do not understand what just happened”

“Me either Thor, but they’re not shouting, crying or arguing, so as far as I’m concerned; it’s all okay for now!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should warn you, we're nearing the end of the current 'fluff filled' section of the story...


	30. XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't realise I'd hit 30 chapters! Wow! Thanks to everyone for still following! Comments are ALWAYS appreciated!

Tony had just put Natasha to bed, he’d read her her favourite book (The Gruffalo) and she was now fast asleep. 

When he rejoined the others, he guessed he'd missed something; Jane was still sat in the lounge watching Cars with Clint, but everyone else had gathered in the kitchen area and were talking in hushed tones

“What’s going on?” Tony asked, taking the cup of coffee Pepper offered him

“Fury just rang”

“And?”

“We have a mission” Steve sighed, glancing back over to Clint who was oblivious to the secret meeting taking place

“What mission?”

“Some Doombots have taken hostages at the Ukraine Embassy and Fury wants us to go in and get them out, it should be an easy mission, and he reckons we’ll be back by tomorrow night but he wants all four of us”

“What about Clint and Natasha?”

“Fury wants us to watch them” Pepper answered, indicating between her, Darcy and Jane

Tony really didn’t want to leave, and judging by the look of the others, neither did they. But even with two members down; they were still the Avengers.

“When do we leave?” Tony asked

Steve checked his watch; “Quinjet will be here in about five minutes, suit up Stark”

No one had noticed Natasha appear in the kitchen until they turned to leave

“Why are you leaving?” Natasha asked, taking a step forward and gripping Tony’s hand in both of hers

“We just have to go to work for a little while” he explained

“But it’s night time”

“Sometimes we have to work at night time Tasha, but we’ll be back tomorrow” he told her, kneeling down to be at eye level with the little girl

“Please don’t go” she asked sadly, clinging just a little tighter to his hand

Tony picked her up; “Come on Tasha, it’s past you bedtime”

“Do you want me to take her?” Darcy asked, “The jet will be here in a minute”

“No it’s okay, it can wait”

Tony took Natasha back to bed, explaining why it was important that he went away and reassuring her she’d be safe here with Pepper, Jane and Darcy. Then he waited for her to fall asleep until he went to change into his suit.

Steve explained to Clint that they had to go away;

“But what if someone comes to take us away?”

“Clint-”

“But what if the monsters come?”

“Clint-”

“And what if we get hurt?”

“Clint, you will be fine” Steve said quickly before he could be interrupted again

Clint glanced to Jane, who nodded in agreement, and he relented; “Okay Steve”

“I need you to promise to be good, and help take care of Natasha?”

“I promise” he agreed 

Steve ruffled Clint’s hair before leaving him to finish his movie

Thor kissed Jane goodbye and Tony promised Pepper he’d be careful before the four superheroes headed to the roof to board the jet (which had only been waiting almost an hour)

 

Later that night Natasha woke with a start; her nightmares, for the first time, hadn’t centered around the Red Room and everything they had put her through, instead she’d dreamed about Tony and the team; hurt and injured, and she couldn’t shake the images from her head.

She crawled from her bed, dragging her stuffed penguin with her, and wondered down the hallway to Pepper’s room 

“Pepper?” ... “Pepper?” she called from the doorway, but go no answer. She climbed up onto the bed to nudge her, but she still wouldn’t wake

“Pepper!” Natasha said again, shaking her shoulders but once again she didn’t stir. Natasha started to get worried now, so climbed back down off the bed to go get Clint; he’d know what to do, he always knew what to do 

But before she reached their room, she heard a commotion coming from inside, heard Clint shouting before a man dragged Clint out into the hallway. He was shouting and fighting, but the man had too good of a hold on him. Natasha turned to run back into Pepper’s room and hide since the man dragging Clint away hadn’t noticed her yet, but as she turned she ran right into another man who’d snuck up behind her

“There you are little girl” he said as he reaching out to grab her, a heavy German accent tainting his words

“Tasha! Run” Clint shouted, as the man who had him tightened his grip on the struggling boy

Natasha kicked him and dived through his legs, running down the hallway to the spare rooms were Darcy and Jane had been staying

“Darcy! Jane! Wake up! Please wake up!” she shouted as she shook them, but they didn’t stir either

Pounding footsteps echoed down the hallway as the man followed her

Natasha managed to scramble under the bed just as the door flew open

“Come on out little girl, do not make this harder than it needs to be”

Natasha was trembling under the bed, terrified and alone as a large strong hand wrapped itself around her ankle and pulled her out from her hiding place 

She screamed as he dragged her out from under the bed, but there was no one there to hear it. The man offered her a wicked grin, before holding a piece of cloth over her nose and mouth until she passed out.

Clint was still trying to fight off the guy that had hold of him, when he saw the other man strolling back down the hallway carrying an unconscious Natasha 

“What did you do to her?” he shouted 

“The same thing we’re gonna do to you if you don’t behave” one of the men warned, leaning right in close to Clint’s face and speaking in a low, angry tone

“They’re gonna make you pay for this” Clint told him confidentially

“Who is? They left you remember” he smirked

“Davros! We found it!” came a voice over the radio 

“Good, grab it and let’s get out of here!” he replied before turning to the man who still held Natasha; “Mayer! Load the kids into the jet, I’ll help the others with the machine and we can get out of here before the Avengers return”

Mayer grabbed Clint by the arm and dragged him up to the roof were a small plane waited. He threw Clint into a holding cell at the back of the plane, before dumping Natasha in the same cell and slamming the door shut, locking it.

Clint slumped to the floor and pulled Natasha into his lap as he felt the jet power up and take off;

“I’m sorry Tasha, I promised I’d keep you safe” he whispered to the unconscious girl as he stroked the hair from her face.


	31. XXXI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had lots of people concerned I'd killed off Pepper, Jane and Darcy... But don't worry, they're not dead!

The jet had just touched down in Washington, a few blocks away from the Embassy while the Avengers talked tactics. They were just about to move out when Coulson’s voice crackled over the intercom

“Stark? Rogers? Come in?”

“We’re just about to move out Coulson” Steve informed him

“Don’t! We need you to get back here. Now”

“What happened?” he asked worriedly 

“Shield got hit, they took all the data we had on Clint, Natasha and the machine you built, and no one is responding at the tower”

Tony swore, a lot, and loudly

“Hill took a team over but they can’t get access. Not even Jarvis is responding”

Tony swore a lot more as the jet took off, heading back to New York 

 

The plane they’d been transported in had landed and the kids transferred into another cell in a large underground building, Clint was just thankful they were being kept in the same cell.

Shortly after they’d arrived Natasha began to stir 

“Tasha? Natasha?” Clint whispered, taking off the sweater he’d fallen asleep wearing and wrapping it around her. One of the plus points of falling asleep in front of the TV and Thor putting you to bed was that Clint was still dressed, Natasha was wearing pajamas and the cell was anything but warm.

“Clint?” she asked, finally coming round. She took in her surroundings with teary eyes but refused to let them fall

“It’s okay Tasha, I got you” he said, hugging her closer 

“W-what-“ she began, but the loud footsteps approaching halted her words as she looked at Clint with panic clear on her face

“Tasha, listen to me. I need you to be strong, okay, can you do that?”

She nodded up at him, determination set in her face

“They’ll come and save us, they’ll come” he told her, but she already knew that; Clint was trying to convince himself. From his abusive father, let down of a mother, the adults in the foster home who only care about their pay check and the guys in the circus who didn’t really give a damn; Clint had never had an adult he could count on before... He just hope he’d finally found some he could. 

“Pretend to still be asleep” he whispered quickly, gently pushing her head back down into his lap as one of the men rounded the corner 

Natasha shut her eyes as she heard him approach and stop at the door to the cell. Clint was glaring at him as he spoke into his phone

“The girls still out of it Davros... No, wasn’t my- ... Right, okay”

“I guess we’re starting with you boy” he snarled, and Clint felt Natasha’s hand tighten round his

He squeezed it back, silently telling her it was okay before he stood up, and walked over to the door of the cell

“Don’t worry about your little friend, we’ll be back for her later” he said, smiling, as they headed down the dim hallway. But it was too much for Clint; he turned and punched him, hearing a satisfactory crack when his fist connected with the man’s face, he slammed his heel down on top of the man’s foot before elbowing him in the ribs. Clint thought about running, making a break for it, but Natasha was still locked in the cell down the hall, and there was no way he could leave her.

The man’s grip on Clint’s shoulder tightened, and as he dragged him forward Clint yelled in pain.

Clint was still glad he’d done it though; if he could keep their attention on him for a while, then maybe be distracted enough to leave Natasha alone.

He was dragged down hallway after hallway, into another room, with bright lights and a metal desk; his hands were handcuffed behind his back before he was shoved down into an uncomfortable chair before being left alone, waiting... 

 

Tony, Steve, Bruce and Thor landed back at the tower and headed straight down to Tony’s floor. Thor went to check on Jane and Darcy, who were both lay motionless on the bed, and nothing he did would wake them.

Steve found the kids room empty, bed covers and pillows strewn across the floor...

Bruce saw Natasha’s penguin, abandoned in the middle of the hall between her and Pepper’s room. She never went anywhere without that damn penguin...

And Tony found Pepper, equally as unresponsive as Jane and Darcy.

The three women had puncture marks on their necks; they’d been injected with something to knock them out. Bruce took some blood, just to make sure it wasn’t anything they needed to worry about while Tony got to work getting Jarvis back online.

Steve checked in with Shield, informing them that the kids were missing 

“Tony! Tony!” Bruce shouted, running back out the elevator having been to the lab to run the blood tests

Tony looked up startled, hoping there was nothing wrong with Pepper, but Bruce still had the blood samples gripped in his hand

“What is it Bruce?”

“The machine, it’s gone” 

“But that means-“

“They means they’re probably de-aging again, and whoever took them probably aren’t as concerned with keeping them happy and healthy as we are...” Tony completed Steve’s thought

“We need to find them, fast, or it might be too late...”


	32. XXXII

Sometimes Clint hated being a kid; no one ever listened.   
He’d been asked over and over about some access codes he didn’t have a clue about, they wanted information on Shield and security profiles on several offshore bases...  
He must have told them at least a hundred times that he didn’t know, but they refused to believe him; they threatened and shouted, even broke a few of his fingers, but Clint couldn't tell them what he didn't know, and they eventually got so frustrated they gave up and left. 

Natasha was still lay perfectly still, pretending to be asleep as Clint had told her. But the guard outside the cell got fed up of waiting. He opened the cell and threw a jug of water at her, and she couldn't help but cough and splutter.  
A grin spread out over his face as he grabbed her arm and took her down the same hallway Clint had been lead down.  
The handcuffs they tried to used didn’t go small enough for her tiny wrists, so instead they used cable ties to tie her wrists and ankles to the chair  
They asked her the same questions they’d asked Clint, however rather than admit she didn’t know, she remained silent  
They asked her again in Russian, yet she still said nothing; determined to remain strong like Clint had told her too

Outside the two rooms, two agents discussed the progress;

“It appears not only have their bodies been reverted, but also their minds”

“I was assured they would keep their memories, that only their bodies would be weakened, that was why we used this machine! Keep going, try harder. I want those codes!”

 

Hill and Coulson had gathered every possible scrap of information they could, from every possible source; they estimated Clint and Natasha had been taken to one of a number of run down research facilities Shield had been looking into that they thought Hydra had been working out of before this whole thing began, they just never had the chance to follow them up...

While they were working on that, Tony and Bruce managed to activate the tracer Tony had put in Clint’s jacket, hoping he still had it with him. It was intended for if they got lost while they were out, but seeing as how Clint was still wearing it when he went to bed last night, Tony was hopeful he still had it on him.

Coulson rang with their findings, at the same time the computer in front of Bruce came up with a location; Ohio. 

 

Davros had given up playing nice, he wanted answers and he wanted them now. He was sure the two children were playing him, sure they had the information he needed, and he was damn well going to get it.

He strolled back into the room Clint was sat in; “You boy, you will answer the questions, or you will suffer the consequences”

“I’ve told you like a million times already; I. Don’t. Know” Clint said, slowly emphasising each word, allowing an air of ‘duh’ to flow through his words

“Get up” the man instructed, and Clint looked confused for just a minute, before forcing the confidence exterior back in place and climbing out of the chair

Davros pushed him forward out of the room and through a door into another room just a few steps down the corridor

He came face to face with Natasha, still tied to the chair, gagged, and with a gun pointed at her head

“Now answer the question” Davros repeated, glaring at Clint

 

Hill and Coulson came to the tower to stay with Pepper, Jane and Darcy, who Bruce assured were just drugged, and should wake up anytime soon.

The four Avengers boarded the jet and followed the signal to where they would hopefully find the kids.  
Landing a few miles out, Thor, Tony and Steve raced on ahead, leaving Bruce to trail behind. They needed him to remain calm in case they needed the doctor, and they hoped they'd have enough fire power between the three of them to take on the agents at the facility 

They guessed they were in the right location when twenty armed Hydra agents fired at them as they approached.   
None of them were in the mood for games however, and a few seconds later all twenty agents were out of the way. They split up when they made it into the building, not wanting to delay reaching Clint and Natasha by even a moment.

 

Natasha’s cheeks were wet with tears as she sat helpless, staring at Clint. Her wrists hurts as the cable ties cut deep, the man stood behind her had his hand harshly under her chin; holding her head still while he held the barrel of a pistol tight against her head

Clint was shaking, visibly shaking as he was lost for words... He wanted to tell them, wanted nothing more than to spill every answer they were after, but he didn’t know... He really didn’t know and he was at a loss as to what to do. Tears spilled over his own eyes as he struggled to find something to say

The man stood by Natasha cocked the gun, raising his eyebrows in a silent question to Clint. Natasha screwed her eyes shut, tensing against what was to come when there was a loud bang

She opened her eyes to see Tony stood there in his Iron Man suit, the two Hydra agents dead on the floor


	33. XXXIII

Relief hit both of the children like a brick wall; Clint fell to his knees as his legs failed to keep him upright any longer; the weight of the world truly having been lifted from his shoulders and he finally felt able to breathe again. Natasha dissolved into a flood of tears after having held them in for so long. She sobbed as she struggled to breathe through the gag.  
And Tony just stood there for a moment; because he literally didn’t know what to do... The relief at seeing them was getting to him too

“I’ve got them” he told the others down the coms, before he used his suit to get Clint out of the handcuffs holding his hands behind his back. He broke the cable ties holding Natasha in place and removed the gag from her mouth; her arms were around his neck in a second as she wept, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

Tony was glad he had his suit on, because no one saw him crying as he hugged her tightly. He pulled Clint towards them, snapping him out of the state of shock he seemed to have gone into as Clint wrapped his arms around Tony and Natasha.

“First floors clear, Tony get them out of here. Me and Thor will locate the machine”

Tony stood, lifting both of the kids with him as he turned back towards the door. He knew carrying them would leave him limited if he had to fight, but right now he couldn’t bear to put them down.

Bruce had arrived now by, just at the same time as a group of back up hydra agents. Knowing the kids were okay and with Tony, he let go of his control and allowed the other guy to appear, taking far too much satisfaction in the fear on their faces as they saw him appear.

Steve was searching room after room, taking out anyone working for hydra he came across; he was in no mood for mercy; these men had kidnapped two of his team mates, his team mates who had been turned into children by these same men. In Steve’s eyes, they didn’t deserve mercy. And from the sounds coming down the hall; Thor agreed with him.

He finally found what he was after in the room at the very end of the hallway. Seven armed agents were guarding the door, with a further five inside. However they were no match for Steve, and he was soon stood alone in the room.  
The machine Tony and Bruce had built was sat there; with one very important piece missing. The Asgardian stone that powered it, that kept Clint and Natasha from getting any younger, was missing...

“Damnit” he hissed, grabbing the machine and activating his com;

“Got the machine, but the stones missing”

“We need that stone!” came Tony's voice

“There are no others, that was the last remaining artefact from the halls of our kings” came Thor’s voice

 

Tony rounded the corner, seeing his path blocked by yet more Hyrda agents. He darted back round the corner as bullets flew towards him; he’d obviously been spotted. 

Placing Clint and Natasha on the ground, he looked into their terrified faces 

“You’ll be fine” he assured them, before pointing down the hallway behind them;   
“I need you to run that way, I’ll be right behind you in a minute, and Bruce is outside waiting for you guys okay?”

They looked doubtful, but the hydra agents were getting closer, and he had to make a move

To his surprise, it was Natasha who grabbed Clint’s hand and gave him a tug in the direction Tony had pointed; Clint’s jacket hung loosely over her shoulders as she continued down the hall dragging a reluctant Clint behind her.

Tony smiled proudly, before turning to face the men firing at him, swiftly dealing with them. 

 

Clint and Natasha eventually made it out of the building, but were faced with a new problem; there stood the Hulk. They knew it was Bruce deep down ( _really_ deep down), but Natasha froze, retreating back into the building.

Clint gripped her hand, trying to encourage her forward; they needed to get away from the explosions and fighting going on inside, he knew Bruce would protect them, but Natasha was clearly terrified.

The Hulk turned to face them, locking eyes with two frightened children. Natasha was still trying to scramble backwards; held in place only by Clint’s grip on her hand, however his grip was slackening; her wrists were bleeding from the cable ties that had been far too tight and the blood was making her hand difficult to keep hold of.

She jerked backwards as the Hulk took a step toward them, she fell to the floor as Clint turned to see the Hulk shrinking back down; Bruce suddenly reappeared, taking control again and calling for Clint and Natasha to run towards him. 

Thor, Steve and Tony appeared behind them. Thor grabbed Clint as he ran past, Tony scooping Natasha up off the floor as Steve followed, carrying the partial machine with him; they made it over to where Bruce was stood as the whole building collapsed behind them. 

A jet from the other side of the collapsing facility could be seen taking off, carrying the remaining few Hydra agents with it as the Avengers made their way back to their own transport; all desperate to get home.

 

Back at the tower Pepper and Jane had both woken up and been filled in by Phil and Maria. They were anxiously waiting for news when Steve’s voice came over the intercom;

“Coulson? Hill?”

“Captain Rogers”

“We have the kids and the machine, though it’s missing a piece and without it it’s no longer functioning”

“Can we replace it?” Coulson asked, but was interrupted by Pepper;

“Steve, are they okay?” she sounded worried beyond words

Steve glanced back over to Natasha who was sleeping in Tony’s arms, her hand gripping Clint’s as he sat leaning into Thor

“Yeah, yeah they’re okay”


	34. XXXIV

Darcy had just woken as the jet made it back to the tower. She was disorientated and confused, lashing out at Phil before she realised who he was and apologising profusely for the black eye she gave him when she woke.

It was a relief to everyone that Clint and Natasha had made it back, relatively in one piece, and not _too_ young now the de-aging had started once again.

Coulson and Hill, satisfied everything was under control at the tower, headed back to Shield to see if they could track the jet that had taken off with the remaining Hydra agents on board; hoping if they found them, they may also find the missing Asgardian artifact they needed to get the machine up and running again.

Tony was talking with Thor about a possible replacement for the stone, as he desperately tried to figure something out to halt the de-aging process again. They were still nowhere near returning Clint and Natasha to their adult selves and needed something to give them more time.

When they’d arrived back, Clint had run into Jane’s arms as soon as they’d disembarked the jet. He’d sat on her lap while Bruce bandaged his broken fingers and assessed him. Jane glanced worriedly over to the others as his top sagged off his shoulders and he repeatedly pulled his jeans back up; by the looks on their faces they’d noticed too.

Pepper had taken Natasha from Tony when they’d landed, allowing him to go and get out of his suit and take a look over the machine, and she hadn't been able to hide the shock on her face as she felt how small Natasha now was; she was drowned in Clint’s jacket, but even underneath that; her own clothes were baggy and no longer fit right. She was so exhausted she slept right through; not even stirring as Bruce cleaned and bandaged her raw and bleeding wrists. 

“How much time do you think they lost?” Darcy asked Bruce, finally wording what none of the others had

“It’s hard to say” Bruce said tiredly, glancing over at Clint who’d finally fallen asleep on the sofa next to Jane  
“I’d say Natasha lost a few months at least, I’m guessing she’s in the early days of being four now, if she’s not three already, and Clint, well, he lost more; I’d say he was getting close to six”

 

It was getting close to 3am, just a few hours since they’d returned; Bruce was exhausted after his Hulk out, and Darcy had persuaded him to get so rest as his stress levels rose. Thor had returned to Asgard to search for some possible replacement or magic that may help them while Tony continued to work well on throughout the night.

Clint slept sprawled across the sofa, using Jane’s lap as a pillow as she slept too. While Pepper refused to let Natasha leave her arms; settling into the arm chair and holding her while she slept.

Steve was pacing, something just didn’t make sense to him. They’d all thought Hydra had shrunk Clint and Natasha down to weaken them, make them vulnerable; an easy target. However they’d had them back, why didn’t they just kill them if that’s all they were after..? He contacted Coulson to share his concerns, before turning in himself; it had been a long day.

 

The following morning everyone was woken by the smell of pancakes; Steve had got up early in order to make Clint and Tasha’s favourite.

Pepper, Jane and Darcy took them out to the park and they stopped for ice cream on the way home; Clint was even allowed two

“Why are you being so nice to us?” Clint asked suspiciously as Darcy came back with his second serving

Natasha looked up from where she was stirring hers, trying to encourage it to melt

“We’re always nice to you, now eat up or I’m gonna steal your ice cream” Darcy warned, but Clint was not deterred;

“Peoples are only ever this nice when theys got bad news for you. Either that or they want summet”

“What bad news?” Natasha asked Pepper. Since she’d woken up Natasha’s English had been more stunted than before; her accent was more obvious and sometimes it look her a while to think of the right word.

Pepper glanced at the two other women before deciding to tell them the truth;

“You remember the machine Tony and Bruce built?”

“Yes” “Da”

“Those people who took you, they took the machine too. And it... it got broken”

“Fix it?” Natasha questioned as Clint glanced down at the new clothes they’d had to go out and get him

“They’re trying Tasha”

“But, does that mean we’re getting small again?” Clint asked worriedly, glancing down at Natasha

“Yes, but Tony will fix it”

“But what if he doesn’t? What if- what if-“

“Clint, calm down. He’ll fix it, I know he will. He won’t let anything happen to you”

The five of them headed back to the tower, not much in the mood for ice cream any longer. When they got back, the kids settled down to watch a film with Steve for a while.

Pepper was just about to order dinner when she heard shouting from the other room;  
Clint was lay on the floor, bruises appearing down his cheek and on his arms as the other’s stood back, unable to do anything to help.

Natasha was crying in Darcy’s arms, as Bruce was called up to check on him. There were no more broken bones, thankfully, but bruises littered his body and cigarette burns appeared on his arms. It was clear at this age Clint had still been at home with his abusive father, and this news did nothing to make Tony leave the lab to get any rest.

 

Shield had gotten nowhere tracing the jet; it seemed to have just disappeared. Tony and Bruce were making little progress in finding a cure, and Thor had returned from Asgard with no helpful suggestions... And all the while Clint and Natasha were running out of time.


	35. XXXV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so something a little more light hearted again after the last few chapters...  
> Unfortunately, it won't last...

The mood round the tower had been somewhat down since they’d gotten Clint and Natasha back; Shield hadn’t managed to track the jet yet and Tony and Bruce were having little luck coming up with a solution to their problem

Darcy was fed up with everyone moping, so decided to do something fun for the kids

It wasn’t so hard to find Natasha, she was in one of her two usual hiding places; under the table. She was lay on her stomach, propped up on her elbows while she flicked through a book. Darcy heard her sigh as she pushed the book away from her and frowned

Darcy climbed under the table and lay on the floor so she was facing the young girl; “What’s up pip squeak?”

“I can’t do the words” she said, indicating to the book sadly

Darcy picked up the book; The Cat in the Hat... _Again_. Darcy had had enough of that the last time round...

“Well I’m sure someone will read it to you later sweetie”

“But the day before I know the words. Now I don’t” 

Darcy looked at Natasha sadly, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to know how to do something one day, and not the next...

“Hey Tasha, you wanna do something fun?”

Natasha finally looked a little bit happy and nodded 

“Okay, go find Clint” Darcy said, climbing out from under the table and pulling the four year old with her

Natasha skipped off to go find her friend

He wasn’t hard to find either, he was sat on his bed reading the new Avengers comics Steve had got for him

“Clint, you come” Natasha asked, climbing onto the bed beside him

“Okay Tasha, one minute”

Natasha peered over to see what he was reading; “Tony” she said, pointing at the image of Iron Man, “And Steve”

“Yeah, look here’s Bruce and Thor, and that’s me and you when we’re grown ups again”

“Is good?”

“Yeah” he smiled, finishing the page off and closing the comic

“You read to me?” 

“Sure I will, later. But come on, Darcy is shouting us”

When the two kids entered the lounge, all the furniture had been moved to either side of the room

“What is we doing?” Natasha queried, as Clint picked up the ball of string from the table and looked at it confused

“We’re gonna have some fun” Darcy announced with a grin

It took 20 minutes, but soon the living area on Tony and Pepper’s floor resembled something between a net and a spiderweb; the string had been tied from the table to the door, the door to the couch, the couch to the window... and so on and so forth

“What now?” Clint asked when they’d finally finished. He and Natasha were on stuck on one side of the room and Darcy was on the other

“Now you have to get back over here” Darcy told them

Clint smiled and started climbing over the string quickly

“Without touching the string! Go back to the start Clint” 

Clint sighed but stared going back towards Natasha 

Clint made it halfway over to Darcy before he nudged one of the strings and got sent back to the start

“My go” Natasha said, lying on the ground and crawling across the floor. She made it over to Darcy on her first attempt

“Well if you want to take the easy route...” Clint muttered under his breath. After three more attempts and failing, he copied Natasha’s method and dragged himself across the floor

“Okay, see if you can get back without crawling on the floor” Darcy challenged 

Half an hour later when Steve, Pepper, Thor and Tony came into the lounge it was to see Clint trying to use the furniture to climb over the string instead of going through it, although now he'd gotten up there, he couldn't get back down. Natasha had almost made it back to the other side when she’d tripped and gotten a little stuck, Darcy was struggling to make it over to her, and that was when the others walked in

“What- what-?” Pepper stuttered as Tony snapped a picture on his phone

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help?” Darcy asked, trying to steady herself before she ended up tangled like Natasha

Pepper disappeared to get some scissors while Tony snapped a few more photos

“What were you guys doing?” Steve asked, lifting Clint down off the bookcase

“They decided to race and it all got a bit out of hand” Darcy answered 

“But again, what were you doing?” Pepper asked, untangling Natasha with some difficulty

“Just having some fun” Clint answered with a big grin, the first true smile he’d worn in a while

“Was good!” Natasha informed Pepper, matching Clint’s smile

“Can we build a fort Steve?” Clint asked as Darcy and Tony gathered up the bit of string littering the lounge “please please please?” 

“Da! Please?”

Steve glanced over to Pepper, who, when Natasha tugged on her arm pleadingly, nodded

They spent the better half of the afternoon building a fort, even calling Bruce and Jane up from the lab to help out.

Dragging the table into the center of the room, they draped sheets over the top and down the sides as the wall; the sofa was pushed up behind it as the back while Clint and Natasha collected every pillow they could find to put inside the fort.

Thor carried the TV over, while Bruce went out for pizza and the nine of them watched The Incredibles in the fought, eating pizza, popcorn and chocolate. They were all thankful for a bit of a break, some light hearted fun, and to see everyone else smiling again

Clint and Natasha dissolved into a fit of laughter after a pillow fight got a little out of hand and Clint hit Tony squarely in the face.

They played hide and seek with the kids before the Candyland board game came out. Somehow, even at barely four, Natasha won.

Tony read Natasha her Cat in the Hat book, and she eventually fell asleep under the table in the fort, clutching her stuffed penguin (she'd recently named Hawk)

Clint was yawning as he and Thor played snap, rubbing his eyes as he tried to keep awake.

“Okay, I think it’s time for bed” Jane said, as Thor won the fourth game in a row

“Can’t I sleep here?” Clint asked, glancing over to Natasha who’d been asleep on a pile of pillows for almost two hours now

“I don’t see why not, but we’ve got to tidy all this away in the morning, okay?”

“Okay” Clint answered round a yawn, already lying down and closing his eyes

Clint was asleep before the seven adults had even left the room


	36. XXXVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about my lack of updates, but as I said earlier I'm on my labour ward rotation and have just been so so busy!  
> So here it is, the latest chapter of this fic, that has turned out so much longer than I ever intended. I reckon it'll be about 40-45 chapters long by the time it's finished so we're not that far off... But who knows  
> Thanks again to everyone who's been following this fic! And as always, your reviews are always much appreciated!

Clint woke, still under the table in their fort. Natasha had crawled over to him at some point in the night and was now snuggled close to him under his arm, still asleep. 

“Tasha, Tasha” he nudged her, whispering to wake her

“Huh?” she asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly 

“Natasha, wake up”

“Why? Is not morning”

“It is, almost” he admitted, reading the time of 5am on the clock

“Why we awake?”

“Don’t you think we should do something nice for everyone? To say thank you for yesterday”

Now Natasha was interested, and finally opened her eyes “What we going to do?” 

Clint thought for a minute, ruling out all his initial ideas because Natasha was too little to do most of them

“We can make them breakfast?” he offered

Natasha nodded enthusiastically “Pancakes!” she shouted excitedly, causing Clint to put his hand over her mouth and shush her quickly 

“Sorry” she whispered. She followed Clint to the kitchen, and climbed onto the chair he dragged over for her 

“What’s first?” she asked

Clint shrugged; “put those eggs in this bowl while I get the flour out”

She nodded, concentrating at the task he'd given her while Clint climbed onto the worktop 

“What next?” she asked

“No Tasha, without the shells” he told her, looking at the eight eggs, all smashed in the bowl complete with broken egg shell

“Ooops” she said, scooping out the shells with her hands and dripping egg everywhere

Clint jumped down from the counter to rush and help, but didn’t realise the lid was off the flour. It erupted into a cloud of flour, coating the surfaces, floor and the two kids as he hit the floor

“Double ooops” Natasha commented from where she stood, covered in egg and flour 

It was six thirty when Pepper made her way into the kitchen to get her morning cup of coffee 

“What on earth..?” she began to ask; Natasha was sat in the middle of the floor, covered in flour, licking crushed blueberries off her hands while attempting to pour seven glasses of orange juice, while Clint; who was covered in pancake batter, was trying to scrape a congealed mess out of the microwave, having failed to figure out how to turn on the stove

“Shush” Natasha warned her “It’s a rusprise” 

“A rusprise?” 

“She means a surprise, we were trying to make you breakfast” Clint explained, offering her a plate of undercooked eggs, flour, squished fruit and spilled juice with a sheepish smile on his face 

“Well, that’s a lovely idea” she told them, taking the plate from Clint and remembering the time Natasha had tried to make Tony lunch...

She put it subtly back on the counter and changed the topic

“How about we watch another film in the fort before it gets tidied away, and Tony can make us all breakfast when he gets up?” she offered

Natasha grinned, sprinting back to the fort and shouting “Frozen!” while searching through the pile of films

“But we just watched that like two days ago” Clint groaned, following her with Pepper.

“I’m sorry about the mess” Clint told Pepper as they climbed into the fort, sitting next to Natasha who was already happily watching the film

“Maybe hold off on the cooking for now?” Pepper suggested with a gentle smile

“Yeah, Tasha isn’t very good at it” he whispered and Pepper suppressed a laugh; Natasha as an adult still hadn't mastered the skill of cooking, she even managed to mess up microwavable popcorn. Though Clint wasn't much better.

Halfway into the film, when Clint had given up watching and was reading his comics and Natasha had changed position, sitting in Pepper’s lap (covering her in flour as she did), they heard a thud from the kitchen, followed by Darcy’s voice;  
“What the hell?”

“Sorry Darcy” Pepper called, as Thor chuckled and helped her up 

“What happened?” Jane asked, eyeing the state of the kitchen

Pepper joined the others, explaining that Clint and Natasha had wanted to make them breakfast. The two women nodded, understanding, Thor however, did not; “It looks as if a small explosion occurred, are the children okay?”

"They're fine, Thor. Just a little messy" 

Jane and Thor set about tidying the kitchen, while Pepper made coffee for them all and Darcy went to change into something a little less covered in egg   
The four of them then joined the kids in the fort to watch the end of the film; Darcy singing along dramatically and making Natasha laugh, while Thor became absorbed in the comics Clint showed him

Tony, Steve and Bruce appeared as the film ended, and Natasha informed Tony that Pepper had volunteered him for breakfast duty

Tony scooped her up, perching her on his hip “Okay then, why don’t you help me?” 

Pepper rolled her eyes “Not a good idea” she informed him

“Why not? You want to help, right?” Tony asks Natasha, who nodded enthusiastically 

“Okay fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you”

It took two hours for Tony to make breakfast, by which time it was more like lunch. Steve had to go to the shop twice for more eggs and flour, and after Clint insisted on helping too, the mess just spread. 

Tony sat down tiredly, already on his fifth mug of coffee “Next time, make sure I listen to you” he said, pressing a kiss to Pepper’s forehead 

Darcy and Jane were playing on the wii with Clint and Natasha now the fort had been dismantled, when Clint cried out. He fell to the floor, clutching his jaw. Natasha was by his side in a second, while Steve lifted him from the floor.

Bruce examined him briefly; as bruising quickly spread across Clint’s jaw and cheek. “He’ll be okay” he informed the others, holding an ice pack to Clint’s swollen face.

Natasha frowned intently in Pepper’s arms, clutching her stuffed penguin

“I’m going back to the lab” Tony informed the others, heading over to the elevator with Jane and Bruce following

“I’m going to head over to Shield, see if they’ve made any progress in tracking the Hydra plane yet” Steve said, also leaving. 

It hit Darcy that the fun, light-hearted mood she’d manage to create over the last day had quickly vanished. She watched the sad faces of the two mini-assassins as their teammates left...


End file.
